15 Very Intriguing New Active Adult Communities
Category: Active adult communities
June 17, 2020 — Following up on the theme of a few weeks ago, how stereotypes affect where you might retire, we thought it would be interesting to highlight the amazing range of active adult, 55+, and baby boomer appropriate communities that exist. While to many people all active communities seem alike (clubhouse, golf course, tennis courts, and walking trails), there is, in fact, quite a range. The samples we have selected here are just a few of the many communities added to the Topretirements database since March (we generally add about 6 per week). We tried in these selections for a range of styles and locations across the country.
Our point: Not all retirement communities fit in the same bucket. We encourage you to do a little exploring to make sure you don’t miss one that might be exactly what you might are looking for.
Some interesting choices
The selections on this list cover a wide range of types. There are several traditional active adult communities (golf courses, etc.), intergenerational, independent living communities, independent living within a CCRC, Traditional Neighborhood Developments, urban rental loft apartments, Eco-Friendly, mixed use (commercial and residential combined), a cooperative development, and another with different ownership options including fractional ownership.
Carolina Park – Mt. Pleasant, SC. A master-planned community just a few miles from Charleston, this development offers several neighborhoods in a park-like setting. The community is connected through a network of pedestrian walkways, with The Residents Club as the central gathering place.
Encore Mid City – Huntsville, AL. Encore is a new health and wellness-focused Intergenerational community in Huntsville, Alabama, set to open in 2021. It will include 232 luxury apartment homes featuring one, two, and three-bedrooms. Amenities include sustainable dining with an integrated aquaponic farm, a health and wellness space and activities, and a visual arts program
Emerson Green – Devens, MA. A new community-focused neighborhood, it features tree-lined streets, parks and homes with front porches. The community will be made up of 124 single-family homes, duplexes, and multi-family apartments that are sustainably constructed, energy efficient, and intentionally compact.
Hammonds Ferry – Augusta, GA. Hammond’s Ferry is a traditionally designed neighborhood in North Augusta, Georgia, on the edge of the Savannah River. The houses, buildings, and urban design of the community are advertised as an extension of the genteel architecture, friendly streets, and rich cultural heritage of the area. Amenities include a Greenway trail, a number of small family parks, the Riverfront Esplanade, and the shops at Riverfront Square.
Avondale Senior Residences – Decatur, GA. This Eco-friendly community is a 5-story, certified green building with elevators, and offers one or two-bedroom apartments. Just steps away to the Avondale MARTA station and public transportation, it was recognized by the National Home Builders Association in 2020 as one of the Best 55+ Affordable Rental Communities.
Rosebud Commons – Pickerington, OH. Just southeast of Columbus, this 55+ active adult community features 95 luxury rental apartment homes for empty nesters. The pet-friendly community of single-story homes features amenities including a clubhouse with fitness center and common areas.
Sweet Bay – Panama City, FL. Open to all ages, this new, mixed-use community is a walkable master-planned development with five miles of bayfront shoreline on St. Andrew’s Bay. It will include several neighborhoods with parks, pools, trails, a boathouse and marina. A Town Center with grocery stores and shops is also planned.
Pronghorn – Bend, OR. A gated community, it features golf courses designed by Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus, luxury homes and recreational opportunities designed to offer spectacular views of the high desert. Amenities include multiple restaurants, a world-class clubhouse, the Pronghorn Golf Academy, outdoor heated pools, hot tubs, and customized adventures. There are a variety of real estate options including estate homes, condos, fractional ownership, and furnished short-term and long-term housing.
Lake Wildwood – Penn Valley, CA. A large, gated, all ages community in the scenic Sierra Nevada Foothills of Northern California. Nearly 3,000 homes are located in a wooded setting around a man made lake. Framed around the perimeter of the lake are five parks, each with their own beach.
Vintage at the Crossings – Reno, NV. The pet-friendly community for active adult independent living features amenities like fitness center, business center, private dining room, outdoor lounge, resident gardens, and walking trails. Vintage at the Crossings was recognized as one of the Best 55+ Affordable Rental communities by the National Associations of Home Builders, in 2020.
Schroeder Lofts – Portland, OR. An independent living community within the Rose Villa Continuing Care Retirement Community, it is slated for completion in 2022. There are 35 bright, modern apartment homes that feature open-concept floorplans, large view windows and vaulted ceilings.
Bentwater on Lake Conroe – Montgomery, TX. Located between Sam Houston National Forest and Lake Conroe, Bentwater is a gated, waterfront community. It offers 54-holes of championship golf, a Country Club, Yacht Club and Marina. Homeowners also enjoy a sports club with pool and tennis, fitness center, and day spa.
Highlands Village Gardens – Denver, CO. This mixed-use community on the former site of the Elitch Gardens amusement park is located near the mountains and downtown Denver. As a transit-oriented village, it offers urban style and easy living, with shopping only steps away. With environmentally-responsible features, the community features single family homes that exceed the Colorado’s Built Green and Energy Star programs’ requirements.
Avimor – Boise, ID. Surrounded by natural beauty, it boasts a 23,000 acre backyard which allows homeowners access to miles of trails and acres of open space right outside their doors. The community center and Main Street play host to concerts, events, and festivals, while the Avimor Stewardship Organization sponsors programs to preserve and protect the ecosystem.
Nokomis Square Cooperative – Minneapolis, MN. While this community has been around a long time, it is still very intriguing. It offers senior apartment-style living that encourages independence and cooperation among its members who own shares of the non-profit community. Located between Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Park.
Comments: Were you of the opinion that all active adult, 55+, and baby boomer appropriate communities are the same? Or have you found some that break out of the box and offer something unusual. Please share where you live and why you think it is a great place to retire in the Comments section below.
For further reading:
Cohousing Is an Interesting Option
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Comments on "15 Very Intriguing New Active Adult Communities"
Nikki says:
"Avinmor" is more than twice the average price of homes in Boise! Other than that, there is noting "intriguing" about it. Seems to me this is more of an advertising site for expensive communities than discussing retirement places to consider.
Goldie says:
Nice list. It is interesting to see senior rental apartments included, they are really changing in what they offer and seem much more appealing to me.
Danno says:
(Regarding expensive communities) The website name is topretirements.com so as not to be confused with middleoftheroadretirements.com or slumingitinretirement.com. I recommend enjoying the free info provided that relates to your set of circumstances and leave the other info to the folks that are looking for pricier home options. I am looking at cheaper options in foreign lands but don't mind reading about the higher end offerings.
Regards, Danno
Clyde says:
I expect the founders of Topretirements.com didn’t intend the name to represent only the more expensive retirement places to live. It was probably more along the lines of finding the “top” retirement place for varied types of individuals, whether of modest, middle-of-the-road, or wealthy means. I expect most of us are not in the market for the most upscale places with flashy amenities, but I appreciate reading about them, and they will be right for some folks here. I also do appreciate hearing from readers about modest to middle-class places that have worked for them or that they think might be appropriate for less wealthy people. As has been shown, some retirees even find the top place for them to be right where they now live now, which involves little to no cost change.
Editor Comment: Well said Clyde and others. At Topretirements we are trying for a range of places to retire in the hope that one of them might be a top place for a range of retirees. Different strokes. Many people struggle in retirement, most are probably going to be OK, and a few have more money than they need. Just like we enjoy reading about superyachts, we aren't going to ever own one!
JEan says:
All of these communities do sound interesting, like the developers are really trying to stand out from the crowd at least in the promotional material on the web sites. The one thing that rarely if ever is included in the promotional material are the HOA documents (developers usually start and run the HOA until the community is all built out). For me, the HOA rules, regs, and restrictions are as interesting that the floor plans and amenity lists since they will directly impact what life would be like living in the community and I'm not alone - there's even a commercial on TV now that pokes fun at restrictive HOAs and their enforcers. It would be great if those docs were provided on the websites. Even in owner-run HOAs, the documents are often hidden and made available to a potential buyer only after an offer is made. When we put an offer in on the home we brought we made sure that the offer included wording that it was contingent upon our accepting all the items in the HOA document. Our community is small (55 houses) and we can garden and plant what we want in the back yards, including tomatoes and other veggies :)
Robert Slimak says:
Regarding HOA communities. I won't ever live in one! Same with a gated community. The lets keep anyone out who is not like us attitude. These always seem to me to be snobbish. I guess that's why I mostly will be looking for just a place to rent in some normal, diverse, neighborhood when I can No longer live on the road in my RV. And where I can park my RV!
Jean says:
Robert, I used to think like you re 55+ communities but after renting in one (was the nicest house we looked at both in and out of the 55+ community) we changed our minds about them and eventually bought in one. Like the saying goes "never say never". There's more to diversity than age and other physical characteristics, like diversity of thought. And, just because the house is in a community doesn't mean you cant venture outside the confines. For example I take classes at a local pottery studio and belong to a women's golf league at a local course and none of the friends I met in those live in my community. As for gated or not, ours isn't but depending upon where the community is they can make sense, esp those that are manned 24/7. Some communities are in areas where there is a high amount of petty crime (thefts, car break-ins, etc.) and those events can be very frightening (there are a lot of old widows in those communities who dont need to added stress of worrying about being robbed). Enjoy your RV travels and keep an open mind about where you might end up if you ever decide to park the bus. :)
Flatearth6 says:
Just a note on HOAs and COAs - they are not all the same! (We lived in a community for years with a very minimal HOA that kept derelict cars out of yards and asked everyone to mow their yards - which to me, were things every neighborhood should do anyway)
BUT, Make sure you get a copy to read BEFORE you make an offer on a home or condo in that community. Insist on it - if they balk, there may something they don't want you to see. Read before you sign!!
Clyde says:
Robert S. - Our condo community in Florida is gated, but is certainly not snobbish. The condos themselves are modest, plain, built in the 70’s and attract only a few wealthy retirees. A snob might take a look, then turn around. But the 24-hour staffed gates do provide a level of security or at least the sense of it. I agree, though, that many gated communities do tend to seem snobbish and have a “keep the riff-raff out” kind of feeling.
Jemmie says:
At one point I was interested in a senior cooperative or cohousing community, the concept appeals to me, but I've never known anyone who has lived in one. I noticed one did make this list of intriguing communities Can anyone give some input if they live in a co-op or have visited one ?
Eyesofmyst says:
Would like to comment on Cherokee Village Ark. Moved here 2 months ago. Beautiful and there are a few places to shop and eat. WalMart superstore, Dollar Tree, a hardware and furniture store (Carrie's Ashley furn.) However about 40 mins away Batesville has many places to shop and eat and great medical even a cancer hospital. Going opposite from Cherokee is Jonesboro even more shopping doctor's restaurants. And once Covid isn't much of a threat, entertainment will return. Only 2 hrs or less from Memphis and Branson and 3 from Hot Springs, so many helpful residents. Things are so much cheaper especially homes if you on a budget but there are small homes and large homes. Come visit this beautiful place air quality is fantastic. Its clean not too hot like other places. Give it a try you may just fall in love as my husband and I have done.