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The Beachcomber Bungalow is an efficient and wheelchair accessible, 1BR, 1BA cottage in 576 ft2 of A/C space.  It has a front porch and an ample sundeck.  There’s an electric fireplace planned in the living room.  The ceilings are vaulted, and there’s lots of natural light.  An option makes the cottage accessible via a ramp to the sundeck for use by anyone who finds steps difficult. It is energy-efficient, sustainable, and storm-resilient due its construction of Structural Insulated Panels (SIP’s) which are manufactured by New Panel Homes in Englewood.

Banyan Tree Construction has included many features which promote the owner’s ability to successfully age-in-place.  There’s optional, under-the-counter, refrigerator/freezer drawers; an optional, under-the-counter, combination, clothes washer/dryer unit; roll-under kitchen & bathroom sinks; a roll-under countertop range; an eye-level, countertop microwave/convection oven; a roll-in shower, and a comfort-height toilet.

Decorative, enamel grab-bars can be installed adjacent to the toilet and in the shower.  These grab-bars also function as towel racks when not otherwise needed.  There are 36” wide doorways and 5ft. diameter, clear-turning areas throughout the cottage. You can choose to have an on-demand, tank-less, hot water system and insulated windows.  The roof is long-lasting metal, and the entire structure is termite resistant.

The cottage has been designed for either a single person or a couple.  It helps meet the needs of persons with disabilities including the frail elderly, and it provides a very valuable asset to those who are planning to enhance their ability to age-in-place and remain in their own homes.

This home is an effective environment in which to receive care at home. It enhances ones ability to avoid institutionalization; to stay in ones own home; and to selectively purchase supported-living services as needed.

Our concept particularly appeals to those who have already managed the care of their elders and who have gained a greater appreciation for accessibility.  This retirement cottage could not only be a preferred alternative; it could ultimately provide a less expensive one.

Contact: Vandeist@msn.com

Find out about the First Annual gathering and celebration of Engaged in Aging!

http://www.meetup.com/LivinginCommunityNetwork/

Join Tracy, Jeanette, Linda, Shells, Doug and all the rest of us at this very social event.

“I have a video about elder co-housing,” Van Deist said. “We have developed a site plan and cottages. I’m going to give a demonstration of that, and we’re going to talk about organizing a new elder co-housing group. Co-housers can pick a model to build, and we build it for them.”
The homes, a cluster of houses and a clubhouse, will comprise a “pocket neighborhood,” Deist added, a new retirement community concept where nearby neighbors can easily get to know one another and where empty-nesters and single householders with far-flung families can find friendship or a helping hand nearby. The co-housing idea originated in Denmark, he said, and was promoted in the U.S. in the early 1980s.
“Pocket neighborhoods are clustered groups of neighboring houses or apartments gathered around a shared open space — a garden courtyard, a pedestrian street, a series of joined backyards or a reclaimed alley — all of which have a clear sense of territory and shared stewardship,” Deist said. “They can be in urban, suburban or rural areas.”
Deist added a variety of models would be offered, the smallest of which would be a one-bedroom, one-bath cottage offered to a single or couple.
“It’s 576 square feet, but it has a generous sun deck and a porch,” he said. “It would cost $110,000 plus $50,000 for the developed land and a share of the clubhouse. This cottage’s options include an under-counter refrigerator/freezer drawers, an under-counter combination washer/dryer, an on-demand hot water system, insulated windows, and a wheelchair ramp as additional commitments to accessibility, energy efficiency and ‘visitability,’ which means the home would accommodate a visitor with a disability. We’ve also designed two-bedroom cottages with one or two baths, and a three-bedroom, two-bath model as well.”
Deist added he was a nursing home administrator for about 25 years in Sarasota County, where he helped run Heritage Healthcare Center in Venice, among others, and where he first learned about the co-housing concept.
“My major emphasis is independent living,” he said. “People want to be independent and not go into any kind of facility that might jeopardize that. This is an opportunity for them to be in their own home and bring in whatever services they might need.”
Deist added he has investors lined up to purchase and develop lots on the Ponce de Leon property, which would then be sold to co-housers.
“We’re looking for lots that have already been platted and contiguous,” he said. “The one we found on Ponce de Leon has 16 lots, with eight lots back-to-back, between two public streets. Our plan is to turn the houses inward so that you have a common area that is shared for gardening, walkways or whatever.”
At the same time, he’s looking to put together a group of people interested in co-housing. Deist said a challenge in the process is to find the right mix of people to buy into the concept.
“It takes some time for them to develop some cohesiveness and bonding among themselves to make this work,” he said. “I’ve found they usually have a sense of commonality, such as socially conscious people, vegetarians, or perhaps those who belong to a particular religious order. The group we’re looking for here would be elderly people seeking an enclave to share.”
For more information , call Van Deist at 941-223-5880 or email homeshareflorida@hotmail.com. To learn more about the concept of co-housing, visit www.cohousing.org.

As we age, changes are increasingly difficult to adjust to.  One way we help as our memory systems get a little shaky, is to keep things in their places.  The car keys are in the bowl next to the front door.  We take the same road to go to the same store.  We remember our kids phone numbers, or we have them written in our address books.  These regularities enable us to live independently with dignity.

Sometimes, often beyond our control, we have to, or decide to move.  Now there are new stores, new addresses and phone numbers, new neighbors and a home that is organized differently.  The stove is different, and there is a microwave hanging over the cooktop.  Buttons to push, different TVs, DVD’s, different washing machines and dryers.  Change seems to be everywhere and we can get confused.  Change is difficult, it takes time to get used to all the new things.  Our memory system didn’t just get worse, instead we have many new things to learn.  It takes longer than we want, and much longer than our adult children think it should.  We seem to need more help.

Maybe we are best off staying where we are, where things are all familiar, and we aren’t bombarded with all the change, all the new technology, the differences we need to now learn.  Maybe we are better off aging in place!  Help us do this.

Pocket Neighborhoods for Sustainable Communities
There is currently a national trend wishing to recapture the intimate community spirit and social cohesiveness indicative of the bygone days of small towns of the 1920′s, 30′s & 40′s.  An emphasis upon “Traditional Neighborhood Design” (TND) is the rallying cry for this, and there is a renewed interest in single-family, detached and down-sized homes/cottages. 

There are many different ways for communities to attain a more sustainable future. The sustainability of a community depends on creating and maintaining its economic and environmental health, promoting social equity, and fostering broad-based citizen participation in planning and implementation. Communities that engage citizens and institutions to develop sustainability principles and a collective vision for the future and that apply an integrative approach to environmental, economic, and social goals are generally likely to be more successful.  Energy use, housing, transportation, education and health are considered complementary parts of the whole. Since all issues are interconnected they must be addressed as a system. The process includes:

• broad and diverse involvement of citizens
• the creation of a collective vision for the future
• the development of principles of sustainability
• an inventory of existing assets and resources and additional assets that would benefit the community
• clear, measurable goals
• the development of community indicators to evaluate progress
• open and transparent communication
• early, visible results
• celebration of success

Sustainability is a process of continuous improvement so communities constantly evolve and make changes to accomplish their goals.  This social environment is attractive to markets such as cohousing, senior housing, workforce housing, fraternal & religious memberships, the physically disabled including veterans, the developmentally disabled, and the general public.

A physical setting which can house this social interaction is the “pocket neighborhood.”  Pocket neighborhoods are clustered groups of neighboring houses or apartments gathered around a shared open space — a garden courtyard, a pedestrian street, a series of joined backyards, or a reclaimed alley — all of which have a clear sense of territory and shared stewardship. They can be in urban, suburban or rural areas.

These are settings where nearby neighbors can easily know one another and where empty-nesters and single householders with far-flung families can find friendship or a helping hand nearby.

HomeShare Florida is a 501.C.3 nonprofit corporation which promotes the development of alternative housing environments and which plans to develop a pocket neighborhood of cottages to house a sustainable community of elder cohousing.  This physical model is equally applicable to other markets because of its emphasis on Universal Design and Green/Energy Efficient Construction, but elder cohousing has been selected for an initial target market because of the demand created by retiring Baby Boomers, 50% of whom are relocating to new geographic areas either singularly or in small groups of families and friends who seek to live in proximity to one another in a new, retirement location.

HomeShare Florida has worked with Banyan Tree Construction to develop a cost, effective site plan for 13 cottages and a common house on 3 acres.  The intention is to utilize, existing, contiguous, RSF lots, back-to-back between two, public streets.  In this “lot development” plan, the appropriate site is acquired and developed along with the common house.  The lots are sold to members of an elder cohousing group who at the time of purchase also sign a contract for the construction of one of Banyan’s models.  Members will have been pre-approved for their construction/permanent financing and will agree to begin construction immediately.  The time frame from site search to lot sales is expected to be 12 months.  The cost of acquisition & site development of lots with water & sewer in the North Port/Port Charlotte area is anticipated to be $500K.  Funding will be sought through grants and/or investors.       

This is taken from the October 2011 AARP magazine, A Chat With AARP’s President, Ask Lee,  p. 85.

People of all ages need the same things: a way to get around town, safe and comfortable housing, and places to meet friends. Our surveys show that almost 90% of 50-plus Americans want to remain in their current homes as they age, in communities that support their needs.  Truly livable communities feature sidewalks, bus stops with benches, visible traffic signs, and roads and crosswalks that work for pedestrians and transit riders as well as drivers.  They also offer a variety of housing options (including one-story living), easy access to shops and services, opportunities for social engagement in libraries, and parks with well lit walking paths.  These amenities make for a rich communiuty life.