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Downsized space, upsized living

The Daily Herald – 50Plus Section – Housing & Lifestyle GUIDE

Empty-nesters no longer content to simply go smaller

By Jean Murphy
Daily Herald Correspondent

Long gone are the days when empty-nesters were happy to simply downsize from their large, maintenance-intensive home to “something smaller.” Today 50-plus buyers still want a smaller, maintenance-free home with fewer steps to climb, but they also want much more, builders say Ted and Christine Theodore are typical of today’s buyers. Their new Del Webb home at the Grand Dominion community in Mundelein gives them the flexibility to have a wine-tasting room, similar to the one they had in their previous home, as well as a covered patio with an outdoor fireplace. “We have found that our buyers want more flexibility in their living space,” said Steve Atchison, president of Pulte’s Illinois division. So they have added two new models that offer this at both Edgewater in Elgin and at Grand Dominion.

“This new Deerfield model is what convinced us to buy at Grand Dominion,” Ted Theodore said. “It had so many similarities to our Hawthorn woods home that it made the move easy. “For Instance, we had a large screened room there that we loved and used all the time in the spring and fall. We could get the same thing on a smaller scale at the Grand dominions,” he said. “And we had a wine cellar with just under 200 bottles in our previous home,” he continued. “At Grand Dominion we were able to convert their media room to a wine tasting room with a sound system, bistro table, glass-fronted cabinetry to display our stemware and refrigeration for 40-50 bottles.”

Atchison explained that “these two new floor plans are the result of ongoing market research that indicates our customers are less formal, but still like to host and entertain guests.” They have also found that today’s buyers want indoor and outdoor spaces to flow seamlessly, “creating a setting where family and friends can gather while enjoying the natural scenery,” according to Atchison. Seventy percent of their buyers have opted to make this a four-season room, he added, while only 30 percent are keeping it an outdoor space. With this emphasis on entertaining and efficient use of space, Del Webb’s architects are offering great walk-in kitchen pantries and huge island work spaces that face the great room so that hosts can prepare food while mingling with guests; temperature-controlled four season sunrooms that people can furnish with high-end furniture and audiovisual equipment; and a standard three-car tandem garage.Those who don’t need a third car or an outdoor workshop can convert that space to a media room, hobby room, study, wine tasting room or even extra storage, Atchison said. One of the new models even offers a separate guest suite with private bathroom so that guests, elderly parents or boomerang children can have their privacy. It also offers and optional outdoor fireplace on the patio, which is perfect for outdoor entertaining.

Bruce and Sue Broberg actually chose to upsize with their recent purchase at Airhart Construction’s Fisher Farms community in Winfield. They had been living in the Willowbrook condominium they had inherited from Sue’s parents until they discovered that they just didn’t have enough room to entertain their many children, grandchildren and friends. So after a year of researching homes and communities, they chose to buy a new three-bedroom ranch home with a full basement and attached two-car garage that could provide Bruce with a work room and both of them with more storage and space to entertain. “When our family gets together, there are 30 of us, so we wanted an open interior with a great room/kitchen combination but we wanted the entire house to be less than 2,000 square feet and cost around $400,000,” Bruce said.“And we didn’t want to have to renovate an older home,” Sue added.

It was a tall order but they found what they wanted at Fisher Farms. The Brobergs like the fact that all of their snow removal and landscaping is handled for them and that all age groups are permitted to purchase there, not just active adults. Airhart’s earnest efforts to reduce utility costs for buyers was another plus, they said.
“Our buyers have discovered that they don’t need a big backyard, but they want a nice house that can flex to accommodate their changing needs,” said Court Airhart, president of Airhart Construction. “Just because you are building a smaller home doesn’t mean that you lose your ability to customize.” Airhart has found that most of his older buyers want room to extend their table for a big family meal. They would rather have a large, custom shower that a bit tub, and they want lots of light and great views.

D.R. Horton, formerly Cambridge Homes, offers a wide variety of floor plants in its Carillon active-adult communities because, according to Chris Naatz, vice president of sales, “different people want different things.” “Large great rooms are continuing to gain in popularity with our Carillon customer but many of them still want the more traditional dining room and living room plan, too,” Naatz said. Almost universally, however, they want first-floor master bedrooms and are fine with having secondary bedrooms on the second floor, he added. Some, however, are asking for dual master bedroom suites so they can accommodate their parents or adult children and can also choose separate sleeping arrangements for themselves if they so with.

The biggest new trend Naatz has observed, however, is buyers’ preference for sunrooms which give them another room in the house, but one where they can also enjoy semi-outdoor living. And more buyers are also asking for three-car garages where they can store their “toys.”
Larger kitchen islands where people can cook while visiting with their guests are also in high demand, as are raised dishwashers and raised master bathroom vanities – all to minimize bending and lifting.

Finally, the fact that D.R. Horton’s homes are Energy Star-certified is a huge selling point because empty nesters realize that energy efficiency in their appliances, windows, insulation and more can save hundreds of dollars each year in utility costs, Naatz said.

Fifty-plus residents who want to winter in Florida or Arizona are particularly drawn to Meadow Ridge in Northbrook because it is a gated community. And they enjoy the large fifty-floor master suites that give them between 1,600 and 2,250 square feet of living space on a single floor. But things have been evolving. “When we first started building, people seemed to want the larger duplexes and townhomes, ranging from 3,100 to 3,700 square feet,” said Shannon Gibson-Giampa, sales director for builder KZF Development. “But over the past two years we have definitely noticed a shift. People are really scaling back now. They are opting for our smallest model, which is 2,600 square feet, saying that they don’t need anything larger.”

Buyers have also asked over and over for KZF to add more storage space and to remove the whirlpool tub and replace it with a large, walk-in shower. So those changes have now simply been incorporated into the standard plan, Gibson-Giampa said. The Heritage of Palatine is a perfect condominium building for empty-nesters because of its elevator and the fact that all of its units feature open floor plans with lots of flexibility, as well as a bonus room that can be used as a dining room, media room or office.

“All of the plans also split the bedrooms so that the master is on one side of the living area and the second bedroom is on the other side of the living area so that everyone can have their privacy,” said Katie Campbell, sales manager. Meanwhile, next door at the 2,300-square-foot, three-level Heritage Brownstones, which are currently under construction, they are roughing in spaces for elevators in case homeowners decide to add them later. On the main level of each brownstone there is a kitchen, great room and a flex space that could become a formal dining/living room or a dining room and office. The lower level features a garage and a bonus room. Bedrooms occupy the top floor.

Liz Mallin, sales manager at Shodeen Residential’s Reston Ponds community in Sycamore, is still seeing a more traditional empty-nester buyer at her all-ages community. Only 20 percent of the active adults there are opting to do without a formal dining room. “Most are still entertaining in their free time and our dining rooms are very large, seating 10 to 12 people, so they want that room,” Mallin said. “When they move here they mainly want a larger-feeling home with less to maintain,” she said. Homes at Reston Ponds range from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet and include a full basement. And since U.S. News and World Report recently named Sycamore one of the top places in the country to retire (thanks to its charm and small time personality), empty-nesters are flocking to Reston Ponds, Mallin added.