Custom Retirement Housing

A Naples, Fla., custom builder tells me he’s talking with a group of prospective clients–older residents in his high-end neighborhood–about building them a sort of private, luxury congregate housing development for their later years. They enjoy being neighbors, want to maintain that relationship, and recognize that their housing needs will change as they age. The project is still in the talking stage, but it may include clustered single-family units, some centralized common space, and a facility where residents can move when they are no longer able to live independently. Custom home clients are successful people, accustomed to controlling their living situation. I expect that many of them will explore this kind of arrangement, which will allow them to maintain that control as long as possible. Given the demographics of the custom home market, this looks like a trend that architects and custom builders may want to get in front of..