Upscale retirement communities are becoming ever more popular with upper-middle-income Baby Boomers as their generation reaches retirement age. With everything from 24-hour concierge service and championship golf course to five-star restaurants and full-service spas, upscale retirement communities from New York to Florida offer the best combination of real estate and lifestyle retirees can find.
Upscale retirement communities come with the same basics as standard retirement communities: age-restricted living for seniors older than 55, physical activities and community gatherings. But they offer much more, from luxury amenities such as on-site healthcare facilities to sporting facilities such as golf courses designed by professionals like Arnold Palmer.
Upscale retirement communities naturally cost more, but surprisingly they don’t cost all that much more. The rough economy kept many developers from hiking prices on real estate for a number of years, so housing costs in these communities is remarkably affordable. Residents typically don’t pay a great deal for luxury amenities, though monthly maintenance, security fees and other additional costs can be substantially greater.
Three Upscale Retirement Communities
In recent decades developers have built upscale retirement communities across the country, from Arizona and Georgia to Florida and New Jersey. The amenities they offer vary, and so does the quality and pricing of the property, but they all have two things in common: They’re all restricted to seniors and they all fall at the upper end of the retirement community spectrum. Following is a brief look at three of these upscale retirement communities.
Meadowbrook Pointe: This upscale retirement community on Long Island is still under development by Michale Dubb and the Beechwood Organization. It’s located in Westbury, N.Y., adjacent to the Mill Pond Golf Course. Amenities include pools, a spa, a gym, a card room, a billiards room, a bar, a golf simulator, a library, a theater, a ballroom, a cafe, an aerobics center, and tennis and bocce ball courts. Condominiums in this 720-unit development start at $560, while townhomes start at $975,000 and villas start at $750,000.
SaddleBrooke Ranch: Robson Communities developed this upscale retirement community in Oracle, Ariz., 30 miles north of Tucson. Amenities for active adults abound, including a country club and 18-hole golf course, pools, tennis courts, creative arts facilities, billiards rooms, a softball field, gyms, a dog park, and a casual restaurant. Model homes at SaddleBrooke start at $220,000 for about 1,500 square feet. At the top end, designer homes with 2,200 square feet sell for upwards of $440,000. The character of this upscale retirement community is rapidly changing, as Robson is carrying out its master plan by expanding the development.
Sarasota Bay Club: This is an upscale retirement community that sits in Sarasota, Fla., right on the water of the Gulf Coast. Residents live in condominiums in two high-rise towers. The grounds include extensive healthcare services by way of the Inn at Sarasota Bay Club, a luxury inpatient healthcare facility on the grounds of the Sarasota Bay Club. Amenities of this upscale retirement community include a spa, a heated pool, a bar, restaurants, a gym, a theater, a library, an art studio, an entertainment room and a gift shop. The club provides an on-site, full-time lifestyle director and 24-hour valet parking. The prices of one-bedroom condominiums here start at $350,000, with four-bedroom units going for $1.8 million.
Miss Kunze is a writer who lives in the southern United States.
