Having It All Independent-Living Projects Proving A Popular Alternative For Seniors

He didn’t realize it, but when Julius Thurin bought his new home, he also bought into a new trend.

The Valley man has his own yard, but he doesn’t have to mow or water it. He has a full kitchen, but he doesn’t have to cook.

His new home sits on a rural hillside, and boasts a spectacular view of Mount Spokane. It’s also just minutes from medical help - something his doctor ordered earlier this year.

“Age has caught up with us,” said Thurin, a fiercely independent senior whose heart just won’t let him do yardwork and other strenuous duties anymore. So this summer he and his wife, Polly, will move into a cottage next to Spokane Valley Good Samaritan Village.

The cottage - owned by the Thurins - is Good Samaritan’s first detached independent living duplex. Twenty-seven additional duplexes are expected to pop up around them within the next three years.

In fact, independent living projects for seniors are popping up all over the Valley.

The assisted living boom is over in the Valley, industry officials say - at least in terms of construction. Some new units are going in - but the vast majority of new senior housing projects here are focused on independent living units.

In the last two years alone, the county has approved plans for more than 500 new independent living units in the Spokane Valley. Developers plan to have more than 200 ready for move-in by next spring.

“There’s been quite an explosion,” said Tamara Gordon, Valley Good Samaritan’s director of housing and development. “Part of it is preparing for the baby-boomers.”

Four years ago, Valley Good Samaritan conducted an in-depth market study, looking at local demographics and trends that would tell it which areas it should expand into. It took the information and made plans for 106 new independent living units - 28 duplexes and 50 apartments.

Evergreen Valley Center, located at 1309 N. Evergreen, won approval this week to add 72 additional independent condos to its campus. The approval more than doubled its previous allowed capacity.

Construction will start this summer on Elkridge Retirement Home at 2605 N. Robie Court. Affiliated with the nearby Elks Lodge, it will offer 130 independent living apartments.

Construction also will start this summer on Orchard Crest Retirement Community at Fourth and Evergreen. The upscale facility will offer about 150 independent living units.

Finally, dirt is expected to turn this winter or next spring on the Broadway Court project at 13505 E. Broadway. Broadway Court will include at least 60 independent living units.

In the past, the Valley has experienced a shortage in communities for independent seniors, Gordon said. There wasn’t much choice if you wanted a place where all yardwork and maintenance - indoor and outdoor - was handled for you. Choices were especially slim if you wanted to rent.

Not anymore.

Over half of the new units planned for the Valley will be available to rent. And within a few years, choices should be wide for seniors in the middle class - and especially upper middle class - market.

“The upscale, high end of the market is where most of the building is,” said Judith Ross, spokeswoman for Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, an umbrella agency for elder services in five counties.

Many of the new independent living facilities won’t have much to offer for less than $1,000 a month, unless the resident can buy the unit. Monthly rental rates for the proposed Orchard Crest Retirement Community will start at $1,200 for a 500-square foot studio. A 1,600-square foot unit will go for about $2,200.

Developers of Orchard Crest promise an upscale facility - complete with a movie theater, 5,000-square foot dance floor, shops, salons, exercise facilities and a computer lab. Other proposed facilities will require residents to buy their home or condo, then pay a monthly service fee of $600 to $1,000 for utilities, maintenance and access to common facilities and programs.

The smaller units at Evergreen Valley Center measure from 700 to 1,000 square feet and usually sell for around $100,000. Larger units go for $130,000 or more. For those who prefer a duplex, the cottages at Valley Good Samaritan run from $136,000 to $155,000.

One advantage of buying is that many facilities will return 75 to 85 percent of the purchase price to residents if they choose to move out. In the event of a death, the refund goes to the estate.

Some facilities, such as Valley Good Samaritan, offer assisted living and nursing care on the same campus. Others, such as Evergreen, provide independent units only.

Ross, who works with seniors every day, knows that many of them cringe at the idea of moving into an age-segregated community. Especially if they are healthy and independent.

But for others, there’s a strong attraction to the idea of shedding the drudgery of mowing the lawn, painting the house and fixing the leaky dishwasher.

“We even change light bulbs for them,” said Frank Rehn, president of Evergreen Valley Center.

Some seniors, such as Thurin, need the extra help. Others simply want to free up more time for recreation or travel.

“There are 76 million baby boomers,” said Ross, who expects these future seniors to reinvent retirement.

“Clearly,” she said, “this is a huge market.”

But with the oldest of the baby boomers just now reaching 54, it’s primarily a market of the future. While Evergreen describes itself as a community for those 55 and older, it’s youngest resident today is 72.

Many seniors, such as Julius and Polly Thurin, will continue to avoid retirement communities until it’s medically impossible. The Thurins hated the idea of trading their Northwood home, with its yard and privacy, for a apartment or condo. That’s why they’re thankful choices are expanding in the Valley. Choices such as rural senior cottages with a view of Mount Spokane.

“We’ve only been married 56 years,” Thurin said, “but we’ve always had the good fortune to have our own home.”