More Boomers are looking to cohousing for retirement

Innoculture newsletter, August 12, 2008
WHAT'S HAPPENING

• Communes didn't die at the end of the '60s. They grew up to be cohousing, a new kind of participatory community that's attracting increasing numbers of Boomers as they enter their 60s.
• Cohousing units are individually owned, like condos. But residents of the eco-friendly communities share communal resources and facilities, which helps them be energy-efficient.
• When we first wrote about cohousing in 2003, there were 60 such communities in the U.S. In 2008, there are at least 100, with 300 more in development (Columbia News Service 5.11.08).
• Properties range from Songaia Cohousing Community's 11-acre spread outside Seattle to the two-block Eco-Village apartments in Los Angeles.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

• The current senior housing model — from home to assisted living to nursing home — won't cut it for many Boomers, who've had a sneak peak while helping their parents. Cohousing lets them rewrite the future by coming full circle with their youthful ideals.
• No longer a luxury, building green is rapidly becoming a necessity. For eco-savvy Boomers, sustainable cohousing is a big draw.
• Boomers who pool their resources can stretch their retirement funds.