 |
Return to University Life as a Senior
Retirement communities near college campuses can provide intellectual stimulation.
August 2006
By Beth Brophy
When Bruce Roberts, 70, a professor of psychology at St. Olaf College, in Northfield, Minn., retired in 2001, he and his wife, Jan, 69, had no intention of giving up a life devoted to education. Rather than taking off for warmer climates, they moved close to campus to Village on the Cannon, a condominium community affiliated with both St. Olaf and nearby Carlton College. "An active intellectual life is very important to us," says Bruce, who calls this stage of life "a second planting for teaching, writing, volunteering and traveling."
The couple attend cultural and sports events on both campuses, meet friends for $5 meals at student dining halls and browse the colleges' bookstores. They're members of the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium, a group of adults ages 55 and older who include many retired St. Olaf and Carlton professors. They take and teach classes held in spaces around town. Bruce teaches the psychology of retirement, and Jan is studying Irish short stories.
Bruce and Jan Roberts are part of a growing trend of seniors who are moving to retirement communities affiliated with colleges. "For many people, living on or near a campus is better than a condo on the fifth green," says Leon Pastalan, an expert on college-linked communities and professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of Michigan.
Such lifelong-learning communities are not merely magnets for seniors nostalgic for their college days. They're also attracting individuals who view retirement as an opportunity for new intellectual pursuits. College-linked communities are available at 70 campuses, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Notre Dame, Penn State, Stanford and the University of Michigan. In many cases, the communities are run by real estate developers.
Jon Petters, chief executive officer of Collegeville Development Group, in St. Cloud, Minn., which built Village on the Cannon, expects the number of campus-linked communities to double in the next decade, as retiring baby-boomers look for challenging experiences. A survey of 233 individuals ages 55 to 75 by Newton, Mass.-based developer Campus Continuum found that 58 percent would like to live on or near a campus of a small college.
Such communities benefit both colleges and residents. The colleges receive money from land sales, rents and fees, as well as the potential for contributions from happy residents. The communities can also be attractive places for former faculty members to continue pursuing their academic and social interests. Many retirees want a chance to mentor students and dispense career advice.
"There's something going on here every hour of the day," says Emma Karlin, who moved to Lasell Village in Newton, a Boston suburb, five years ago. Lasell, with its 210 senior residents, is affiliated with Lasell College, which has 1,100 students. Karlin, 90, a widow, didn't want to take care of her Newton house anymore, and Lasell Village's educational component appealed to her. She has taken classes created for village residents in opera, law and musical theater-which, she says, "keeps my brain busy."
Do Your Homework First
If you want a strong educational program, make sure you do your homework before you sign on. A development's relationship with the nearby school varies from campus to campus. In some cases, it may have only tenuous ties to the educational institution.
But others have a stronger link. Seniors who live in retirement communities near Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, can audit classes as well as attend concerts, plays, sporting events, art shows and faculty-led book discussions. They also have access to the college library and recreational facilities, including the pool, and they get discounts at campus stores. At Lasell Village, residents are required to take 450 hours of classes a year with other residents or college students, which can include everything from taking yoga to attending a Boston Pops concert.
Communities also differ by housing model. Most offer rental units, condominiums and cooperatives, including attached townhouses. Some developments are continuing-care retirement communities (CCRCs), which combine independent-living apartments, assisted-living units and nursing-home facilities.
At Lasell Village, a CCRC managed by the college, a resident doesn't own a unit but pays an entrance fee, 90% of which is refunded when the resident moves or dies.
Prices vary according to region. Condos in the Village on the Cannon range from $194,000 to $461,000. At Hyatt's Classic Residences, a CCRC on 22 acres in Palo Alto, Cal., near Stanford University, units cost $600,000 to $4 million, of which 90% is refundable when a resident moves or dies.
Gerard Badler, managing director of Campus Continuum, says prospective residents should consider the following issues before buying.
Finances. What is the college's financial stake in the project? If you're buying into a community on land leased from the college, make sure the lease is long-term, for at least 30 to 40 years. If the college has no stake in the project, try to gauge how involved it will be with senior residents.
Integration. Ask about the policies on attending and auditing classes, using the library and other school facilities, and eating in student dining halls. Prospective residents should ask if these arrangements are for the long term.
User fees. The best communities, Badler says, are those where seniors pay a monthly fee that includes campus activities rather than pay every time they use the fitness center.
Dean of seniors. Find out if the senior community has a staff person to coordinate activities with the college. The coordinator should help seniors find volunteer activities both on-campus and off-campus, including local schools, hospitals and libraries.
If the idea of a college-linked retirement community appeals to you, ask your alma mater if it has one or can recommend one, or call a university in a community that you're thinking of moving to. You can also check out the Web sites of developers, such as Campus Continuum (www.campuscontinuum.com), Collegeville Development (www.collegevillecommunities.com),Co-operative Retirement Services of America (www.crsa.com), in Memphis, Tenn., and Kendal Corp. (www.kendal.org), in Kennett Square, Pa.
Go to Kiplinger's Personal Finance home page
|
|
|
