A privately owned and operated seniors' residence located in the award-winning neighbourhood of Garrison Woods is being touted as a first for Calgary - and Canada.

But it won't be the last.

With the national population of senior citizens outpacing every other age demographic in the country, the construction of places such as Staywell Manor represents an under-developed real estate market that's also feeling the impact of Alberta's economic boom, says Marilyn Moldowan, a real estate agent with Re/Max Real Estate Central.

Moldowan, a registered nurse still active in home care, figures 90 per cent of her real estate business focuses on seniors' housing. These days, she fields a growing number of calls from Calgarians who want to move their aging parents to the city.

Dave Olecko, Business Edge
Staywell Manor sales and marketing representative Cory Baiton models the project's show suite.

Most of those buyers are pleased with the choices available here, notes Moldowan. "But hot properties go fast."

And Staywell is hot. Built by Calgary's Statesman Group of Companies, which pioneered the adult-only villa concept in Calgary, Staywell welcomed its first residents last spring and expects to be sold out by February.

The 169-unit complex, with one- and two-bedroom suites, is unique in that it offers three levels of care: Independent living, assisted living and "memory care.”

The latter is a secure wing with 22 suites (one is rented out for short-term respite care) and a private dining room, says Staywell sales and marketing rep Cory Baiton.

Other Staywell perks include 24-hour access to registered nursing care, recreational services, scheduled doctor visits and a pet policy. Residents are encouraged to eat at least two of their meals in one of the three dining rooms, a choice that augments the "stay well" concept by boosting nutrition and social interaction, explains Baiton.

Prices vary with different plans, but include a monthly rate based on an annual lease, or an option to buy a unit (in the $165,000 to $220,000 range) and pay a monthly occupancy fee. With purchase, Staywell offers a number of life-lease options that feature a buy-back provision upon vacancy.

The buy-back concept, a hybrid of rent and purchase, is increasingly common in the private sector, says Shirley Reddy, housing co-ordinator for Calgary's Kerby Centre, an organization that helps Calgary's senior residents remain active in their community for as long as possible.

Besides helping people aged 60-plus locate community resources for housing, Reddy offers basic advice on housing issues, including landlord and tenant issues.

She recommends seniors get legal advice before they sign life-lease options, since some allow lease cancellation if medical needs change.

Headquartered in Edmonton, the Alberta Senior Citizens' Housing Association (ASCHA) represents more than 100 voluntary, private and public operators of seniors' housing. ASCHA members are responsible for approximately 24,000 housing units, representing 70 per cent of the total.

The Kerby Centre and Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton (SAGE) do a good job of helping people through the maze of seniors' housing issues in Alberta's two largest cities.

But their job is getting more difficult, says ASCHA executive director Irene Martin. First, more Alberta seniors need assisted-living options. Those options are readily available for those with money, but affordable options are tight.

Reddy agrees. She says the Kerby Centre sees more seniors who "used to be able to afford (their rent) and now with the increase in rents, they do have to apply for subsidies because their pension just won't stretch enough to cover it.”

Condo conversions put further strain on vacancy rates - and rental prices.

"It's going to get worse. A lot of the stuff you read now is that Baby Boomers have planned better and they're going to be able to afford (their retirement). I don't see that here," says Reddy.

Lauren Ingalls is the chief administrative officer with Metropolitan Calgary Foundation (MCF), a not-for-profit group that accommodates more than 1,400 seniors at 10 different sites.

Calgary currently offers about 800 subsidized units for assisted living. "By 2014 there will be a need for just over 400 more units, which might not sound like much, but it's almost a 50-per-cent increase."

Similarly, the city offers about 4,400 subsidized units for independent living - and needs 2,000 more in the next eight years.

MCF has secured grants for 150 new units and even has the land in place. The challenge? "Trying to meet the gap between the $50,000-per-unit funding and the reality of the $176,000-per-unit construction costs."

She expects the situation to get worse as the first Baby Boomers retire in five years. "We've already got long waiting lists for (affordable) housing and in the future in Calgary, you're going to see a growing disparity between those seniors who have resources (and those who do not)."

Affordable housing issues are exacerbated by an overall shortfall. Two years ago, an ASCHA study projected that Alberta needs another 17,000 seniors' units by 2016. Three thousand have been built, but with 10 years to go that progress is weakened by the fact the first projections were based on numbers "made before this booming economy took off," says Martin.

The problem is nationwide. Statistics Canada predicts senior citizens will outnumber children by 2015, a projection that accelerates when the first Baby-Boom cohort (born in 1946) reaches 65.

That trend holds until 2031, when seniors will account for 23 to 25 per cent of the Canadian population, nearly double the current proportion of 13 per cent. The proportion of seniors to Canadians under the age of 15 continues to grow after 2031, but at a slower rate. By 2056, seniors should account for 25 to 30 per cent of the population.

By then, one in 10 Canadians will be more than 80 years of age, compared with one in 30 in 2005. Those figures should catch the attention of all Canadians - who won't want the 200-sq.-ft. units of the past for their own retirement homes, says Martin.

She says Alberta's community-based seniors' lodge program, which focuses on affordable housing, puts this province ahead of its peers. She also likes how ASCHA represents public, private and voluntary operators, saying they can, and do, learn from each other.

On the private front, the three levels of care offered at Staywell Manor represent a kind of ideal for the future, because it lets seniors "age in place," says Nicolle Blais of Statesman.

And that future is going places. Statesman's second Canadian Staywell Manor will likely be built in London, Ont.

With a real estate career focused on this demographic, Moldowan says she'd like to see a whole new kind of residential development for seniors.

Her proposal? Mini-versions of the private villa. Also known as granny flats, Moldowan envisions these units with private parking pads and small gardens.

Moldowan is convinced they'd be a hot commodity. And if someone builds them - she and her clients will be checking them out.

(Joy Gregory can be reached at joy@businessedge.ca)