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COMMUNITY
Aging in place options are scarce in Atlanta
By Cathy Cobbs
The concept of aging in place is a hot-
button topic, however, the path to finding
viable options for healthy and active
Atlantans who are over 55 is elusive.
According to a report by the Office of
Policy Development and Research entitled
“Aging in Place: Facilitating Choice
and Independence,” a combination of
demographics and economic shifts is
“creating a large and growing need for
affordable and age-appropriate housing
opportunities.”
“The coming decades, increasing life
expectancy, a declining birth rate, and
the aging of the baby boom generation
will dramatically increase the number and
proportion of the U.S. population over
the age of 65,” the report said. “This aging
of the population presents a number of
challenges and unanswered questions,
including where people will live and how
they will obtain the support and care they
will need as they age while retaining as
much independence as possible.”
Demographers, according to the
report, estimate that by 2040, the U.S.
population of those age 65 and older will
double to 80 million, and their share
of the total population will rise from
13 to 20%, partly because of greater
life expectancy along with the trend in
reduced birth rates across the nation.
The change is reflected in census
numbers is Atlanta and its outlying
communities. The 2022 U.S. Census
figures show that 17.7% of all Georgians
are over the age of 65, while in Atlanta,
that figure hovers around 12 percent.
DeKalb County's over-65 residents
comprise almost 14 percent of its 762,000
citizens, while Fulton County’s older
population is around 12 percent. Most of
those statistics reflect three-to-four percent
increases over 2010 figures, according to
the bureau.
The Aging in Place report also
discussed the concept of “compression
of morbidity,” meaning that people are
increasingly able to live actively and
largely free of disease until shortly before
death.
The report said that most older adults
prefer to age in place, either in their own
homes or in nearby housing that can be
adapted to their changing
needs. The report discussed
“lifelong neighborhoods that
can accommodate residents
of all ages by incorporating
connectivity, pedestrian
access, and transit,
neighborhood retail and
services, and public spaces
for social interaction.”
Options like the report
discussed for healthy older
citizens in the Atlanta
area, however, appear to
be few and far between.
While it seems that senior
living facilities for those
with medical needs are on
every corner in Atlanta
and its outlying suburbs,
few communities tout
themselves as viable for
having “aging-in-place”
amenities for adults with no
immediate medical needs.
Building community
Many communities, like
Belmont Buckhead Village,
Mount Vernon Towers
in Sandy Springs, and
FFammond Glen Retirement Community
focus on options and amenities for seniors
who need assistance with activities of
daily living, including those suffering
from dementia or memory loss, as well as
seniors needing an escalating level of care.
Ty White of Peachland FFomes said
the demand for what he terms “lifestyle-
targeted” communities for active, older
buyers is “tremendous,” but the supply is
extremely limited.
White is building a 13-home
community in Dunwoody on Roberts
Drive called Swancy that is targeted for
empty nesters “looking for as much living
space on the main floor as possible in the
same geographic area where they have
been living.”
“Our buyers want open concept,
sophisticated but casual, and as little
outside maintenance as possible
because they travel and have other
interests,” White said. “The outside
living space is as important as a great
kitchen and the master on the main.”
White said his company has
received more than 100 inquiries
about Swancy, with about 50 percent
of them seriously interested in the
community. The pandemic, however, and
the resultant economic uncertainties, like
supply chain issues and labor shortages,
have put a serious wrench in the process.
“I’ve been doing this for 32 years, and
the last two or three years are the most
complicated I’ve ever experienced,” he
said. “COVID has caused a lot of stress
and uncertainty.”
One development that appears to be
successfully serving the demand for over-
55 active lifestyle clients is Signal FFouse
near Ponce City Market in downtown
Atlanta, a 21-story, 162-unit multifamily
apartment community that is currently
under construction.
According to a press release from
developer Jamestown, Signal FFouse is
“designed for active adults and the 55+
community with a focus on health and
wellness.”
“Signal FFouse will provide a digitally
integrated and socially supporting living
experience for a non-digitally native
demographic,” the release said. “Signal
FFouse will cater to a 55+ community that
wants the convenience of technology-
enabled living without the friction
points.”
According to Jamestown officials,
pre-leasing has begun with one, two and
three-bedroom apartments expected to
be available for tenants by late this year.
Amenities will include access to a property
app that will allow residents to book a
suite of services, including housekeeping,
plant watering, dry cleaning, food delivery
and dining reservations and massage and
personal trainer appointments,
The high-rise community will
include a pool terrace with a shaded
grotto lounge and outdoor shower, a
multipurpose fitness room with connected
outdoor fitness areas, co-working space,
wellness rooms for personal treatments,
a clubhouse lounge, an onsite lifestyle
director and a dining room with a full
commercial chef’s kitchen and connected
outdoor seating.
Jamestown representatives did not
return calls regarding rental rates for
the units, referring all inquiries to the
company’s press release regarding the
development, which does not list any
financial information.
Canterbury Court is also nearing
completion on a 105-unit independent
living expansion at its Peachtree Road
location, with a projected opening date
this fall.
Touted as a “Life Plan Community,”
the new units include studios, one-
bedroom, 831-square feet options starting
at $312,000, as well as other floor plans,
most under 1,000 square feet.
While Signal FFouse and Canterbury
Court appear to be headed for successful
conclusions, a similar concept in
Dunwoody seems to be unable to get off
the ground.
Dunwoody dilemma
In March 2021, the Dunwoody City
Council, in a split vote, approved a zoning
change at 84 Perimeter Center East from
C-l Conditional (Commercial) to PC-2
(Perimeter Center District) that would
allow for the construction of a mixed-use
development that would contain 40,000
square feet of retail and 225 over-55
apartments on the 2.9 acre-site.
The property was formerly slated for a
13,746-square-foot, 160-room hotel, but
those plans were scrapped in 2019, when
developer JSJ Perimeter LLC ditched the
idea, citing the pandemic’s effect on the
hospitality industry.
At the March 2021 meeting, the
council spent a considerable amount
of time passing amendments and
special conditions that would ensure
that over-55 age restrictions could not
be circumvented, including possibly
rescinding a $7 million “inducement
resolution” passed by the Dunwoody
Development Authority earlier that year.
The council also put into place a
condition that JSJ Perimeter LLC had to
apply for a land disturbance permit within
two years of the change in zoning or the
land would revert to its original use.
As that deadline approaches, there
is no sign that the project is moving
forward. On the property, the site of a
former bank, a sign says, “Coming soon
— 84 Perimeter,” but there is no clear
indication that construction is imminent.
The bank building, while empty, is still
standing.
The website listed on the sign contains
information about the now-abandoned
hotel project, and nothing about the over-
55 housing community.
City of Dunwoody officials said there
has been no movement in the project
since the rezoning approval, but that
JSJ has not withdrawn its application
either. A call from Silver Streak to John
DiGiovanni with JSJ was not returned.
8 | MAY 2023
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