Letter: Puzzling Over Senior Housing in New Canaan

Given the controversy over Waveny LifeCare’s proposal to build a continuing care retirement community or “CCRC” on Oenoke Ridge, a number of people have said that New Canaan’s seniors currently have no place to go when they no longer want to deal with a house. They end up moving to a CCRC in Wilton, Darien, or another nearby town. Thinking about this (being analytical), if a person has their heart set on moving to a CCRC, that’s certainly true. New Canaan doesn’t have a CCRC yet, so, yes, they would need to move to one of our neighboring sister towns.

I’ve lived in Oenoke Condominium since 1969 when my family moved here (it was Oenoke Apartments then; it converted to condominiums a few years later). Over the many years I’ve lived here, I’ve often joked that it’s practically a retirement community because so many seniors live here. Clearly, from my experience living here, many seniors decide to downsize from their house to a condominium or apartment. No more dealing with shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, fixing the roof. Most still drive. Thanks to New Canaan’s zoning laws, New Canaan’s condos and apartments are all near town. Most are a reasonably level walk to town, and we often see our seniors enjoying that walk, getting some exercise.

That leads me to wonder, what exactly do we mean when we talk about senior housing? Clearly, if a place has a minimum age requirement restricting it to seniors, that’s senior housing. So, the Schoolhouse Apartments are senior housing. A retirement community is senior housing. A CCRC is, by definition, a special type of retirement community. Then there’s assisted living, which should also be open to handicapped and invalids, not just seniors. The vast majority of seniors, however, live integrated into the same housing as the rest of the population, and there are advantages to multi-age neighborhoods.

When we say, “New Canaan needs more senior housing,” what exactly do we mean? I’ve been accepting that statement at face value; I suspect most people accept it at face value. Did someone do a study of New Canaan’s senior housing needs to determine how much of what type of housing we need beyond what already exists? Did someone determine that we need a CCRC? Waveny obviously believes there’s enough demand for one that they’d like to build a CCRC. Do we mean that we need a retirement community in New Canaan? More assisted living? More nursing home beds? Or do we mean that we need more ground-floor, ADA-compliant condos and apartments at a variety of price ranges?

If the latter, we could encourage more condo and apartment complexes where seniors and handicapped have priority for ground-floor units, others take the upstairs units, for multi-age housing. While different people like different price ranges and amenities, a project of that sort could simultaneously address New Canaan’s need for more affordable housing.

Googling this afternoon to try to answer some of these questions leaves me still confused. One website cautions that terms, such as ‘assisted living’, have different meanings in different states and countries. They list these types of senior housing:

• Aging in place – Modifying ones home and hiring help so one can stay there.
• “Village” concept – Members of the group or neighborhood share services for such things as rides to the grocery store, household help, home health care, social activities.
• Independent living – This is housing that’s been designed specifically for seniors (senior-friendly housing) but, as the name implies, the residents are still able to take care of themselves, although some may need to hire some help. Other web sites say this type of housing may provide one or more meals daily, some housecleaning, or transportation.
• Assisted living – This is for people who need some help with ‘activities of daily living’ (ADLs), such as getting meals, dressing, bathing, transportation to medical appointments. Residents can phone for help round the clock, although they live in private apartments. Another web site says these places often have a dementia unit.
• Nursing homes – for people who need medical and nursing care.
• CCRCs – “facilities that include independent living, assisted living, and nursing home care in one location, so seniors can stay in the same general area” as their needs change over time. Another site says this is the most expensive option, as “Residents must be able to sign a contract and pay for services now, to be used at a later date.”

Retirement communities, referred to as ‘Active Adult Communities’, are another option listed by the FamilyDoctor.org site.

As for New Canaan’s needs and studies:

• New Canaan did a “Downtown Market Demand Study” in 2011.
  • The Executive Summary of it says it “recommends 100 independent senior housing units needed” (p.16, December 30, 2011; available on the town website).
  • The final report, also titled “Municipal and Public Use Facilities Master Plan,” says they were tasked with recommending a location for senior housing, specifically independent living and assisted care. After studying it, they recommended the Lumberyard lot. They felt it should be downtown. They felt the Lumberyard lot could hold 100 condominiums or apartments, but zoning regulations would only allow 50. The report has several sketches for different numbers of units. The idea was to put the housing on top of a two-level underground parking garage with 560 parking spaces to be used both by residents and commuters. The buildings would be no more than three stories. (pp. 20-21, 49-50, 114, February 27, 2012; available on the town website).
  • The report refers to a Senior Health Care and Housing Policy Development Team formed in 2010 to study New Canaan’s long-term senior housing needs, but I didn’t come across their output.
• Russell R. Barksdale, Jr., President and CEO of Waveny LifeCare Network, gave a presentation to New Canaan’s Health and Human Services Commission at their April 4, 2019, meeting (minutes are posted on the town website). Some key points from the minutes:
  • Waveny’s “live-in companion program is growing as people choose to age in place.”
  • “The waiting list at the Care Center currently is over 2.5 years for Title 19 patients.”
  • “The Care Center is typically around 96-100% capacity.”
  • “There are 37 units at The Inn, which is not a money-making venture and is priced to break even.”
  • “Waveny LifeCare conducted a market study with results showing a sizable need for modestly-priced senior housing in New Canaan.”

The upshot?  The question, “Where can New Canaan seniors go?” is more complicated, with multiple options. Which option is best for a particular individual has a lot to do with health, finances, and whether family members are nearby, in addition to the person’s personal preferences.

Barbara B. Mason