By Sheila Grant

The city of Fontana, California (Ken Hunt, city manager), has renewed and revitalized its once dilapidated downtown, transforming it with the addition of four affordable senior housing complexes designed in the Spanish Mission style envisioned by the city’s founder.

Fontana identified a need for affordable senior housing and placed the developments in the downtown area due to the close proximity to existing medical facilities and transportation services, as well as the opportunity for downtown revitalization.

The four complexes serve as bookends to the city’s revitalized core; a library, technology center, and community senior center are also within a short walking distance.

These changes have attracted not only residents, but also businesses and customers from outside of the area. The city now has a sense of community and pride due in large part to its thriving downtown.

The Time Is Right

Fontana is one of a number of local governments to experience growth and development by attracting senior residents to the city center. Unlike any other point in downtown history, the time is right for downtowns and seniors to come together for their mutual benefit.

The nation is experiencing a fundamental population shift. In the U.S. Census Bureau’s statistical brief Sixty-Five Plus in the United States, it is projected that one in five Americans will be over the age of 65 by the year 2050. Downtowns can take advantage of this shift by reenvisioning the downtown to attract seniors as visitors, shoppers, and also as in-town residents.

Downtowns already have key elements in place to attract seniors: compactness, essential services, and opportunities for personal contact. This holds true both right in the central business district and in nearby neighborhoods where people can escape car-dependent sprawl by living and enjoying downtown lifestyles.

Key Areas to Consider

In many city centers, however, there is still much work to be done. Three important areas to consider are walkability, housing options, and attraction programs.

Enhancing walkability. One of the things that makes downtowns especially attractive for seniors is walkability—the ease, comfort, and desirability of walking instead of driving. As cities consider strategies to enhance the overall walkability of their downtowns, special emphasis should be placed on walkability for seniors.

As Concord, New Hampshire (Thomas Aspell, Jr., city manager), has found, something as simple as a double-step curb eliminates the possibility of some seniors coming downtown. On the other hand, in New York City, the Age-Friendly NYC initiative (http://www.nyam.org/agefriendlynyc) credits actions as simple as providing folding chairs in retail locations with encouraging seniors to shop locally.

Repurposing historic structures. In downtowns across the country, a wide range of buildings have been successfully adapted to new residential uses. Adapting a white elephant can be an ideal way to meet senior housing needs, return these resources to productive use, and preserve the historic buildings.

In Anderson, Indiana, the top three floors of the downtown YMCA building have been converted into 30 senior apartments. The city and state provided resources to help bring this project to fruition with tax credits for the developer.

In downtown Galion, Ohio, the national historic landmark Galion Central Hotel now houses 30 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, which are age-restricted to people 55 and over. The project has been described locally as a win-win, providing needed housing options and more feet on the street in the downtown.

Attracting residents. Communities are pursuing efforts to promote in-town living to retirees. One successful example is Tallahassee, Florida (Anita Thompson, city manager), where Choose Tallahassee, a 501(c)(3), was formed to attract retiring boomers to Florida’s capital city. The multifaceted program included creating a fully featured website, publishing a full-color magazine, training local senior residents as volunteers, and creating a follow-up and monitoring process.

A Popular Concept

On a broader scale, states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and North Carolina have launched programs to attract seniors. When North Carolina adopted the North Carolina Certified Retirement Communities Program, Lumberton (T. Wayne Horne, city manager) was the first to meet all of the necessary criteria.

In the case of North Carolina, the state requires that communities be located within 30 miles of a hospital and/or emergency medical services; take steps to gain the support of churches, clubs, businesses, media, and other entities whose participation will increase the program’s success in attracting potential retirees; and establish a retiree attraction committee and subcommittees.

A community must also provide housing at a number of price points and in a number of styles, including apartment, condo, single family, active community, and assisted living; broadband Internet services; plentiful retail and dining options; a farmers market; a pharmacy; public transportation options; volunteerism opportunities; and access to outdoor recreation, arts, and cultural activities.

The preferences of North Carolina boomers were considered in setting up the state’s program. Now, both state and local governments hope to retain local baby boomers as well as some of the 65 million boomers who visit the Carolinas annually.

Examples from around the country show that senior citizen attraction programs together with a walkable downtown rich in services, amenities, and age-appropriate residences can draw seniors to the city center. Those residents in turn will drive downtown revitalization and future growth.