There is no question that the over-55 housing market is booming. The reason, of course, is the aging baby-boomer population.
The first wave of boomers - 3.2 million in all - turned 55 in 2001. In the next five years, 18 million more will turn 55. In addition, there are already millions of even older Americans in the housing market.
In response, more and more builders are branching out from the traditional market - husband, wife and 2.4 children - to accommodate this fast-growing population.
As with just about every industry in this attention-hungry society, seniors housing has its awards. Four of the 24 gold and silver designations presented this year by the National Association of Home Builders went to Philadelphia-area builders or projects.
Criteria for the awards included how creatively builders responded to the demands and needs of the seniors housing market and how effectively they addressed such issues as marketability, budget, challenging sites and diverse programs.
The Villages of Flower Mill in Langhorne, Bucks County, was a silver winner for a community center for a mid-size active-adult community. McGrath Homes, of Langhorne, was the builder; Realen Homes, of Malvern, was the developer and was responsible for marketing. The building was designed by Feinberg & Associates, of Gibbsboro, N.J.
Feinberg also designed the silver winner in the small active-adult category: the community center at the Glen at Masons Creek in Hainesport, N.J., which is owned by Orleans Homebuilders, of Bensalem, and marketed by Pace Advertising in New York.
Toll Bros.' Riviera at Westlake in Jackson, N.J., was the gold winner for mid-size active-adult community, and won a silver award in the active-adult model-home-merchandising category (1,500 to 2,100 square feet).
Finally, the Fountains at Logan Square East in Philadelphia was the gold winner in the renovated "service-enriched" (continuing-care) seniors housing category. It is owned by a Tucson company, Fountains at Logan Square East L.L.C.; built by Uniwest Construction, of Falls Church, Va.; and designed by Partridge Tackett Architects, of Philadelphia.
"Many of the winning projects incorporated architectural and interior-design elements that reflected both youthfulness and vitality while complementing their regional context," said Bill Parks of Parks Development Consultant in Scottsdale, Ariz., who was chairman of the 2002 awards committee.
