This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Published on September 11, 2019, two innovative projects are redefining the concept of retirement living by integrating older residents into college campuses.
Purchase College in New York and Arizona State University are pioneering a unique approach to inter-generational learning by offering student ID cards to older residents, allowing them to access campus amenities and take short courses with students.
At Purchase, residents and students will take short courses together, as research has shown that most retirees have little interest in full-length courses. A student performance space is also being built within the retirement complex.
The New York Legislature approved the long-term lease of state land for the project in 2011, and Purchase College set up a nonprofit organization to develop it with a private operator, at a projected cost of $320 million. Officials expect a base of $2 million in annual rental income, which will be used to almost double the college's $1.8 million scholarship fund and hire new faculty members.
At a recent marketing session for the Purchase project, Broadview Senior Living, Ashley Wade, the project's marketing director, gave a hard sell to about 25 potential buyers, saying, 'You don't have to go to class. You just get to go to class.'
Many of the listeners were in sticker shock, with Purchase College 'entrance fees' ranging from $595,000 for an apartment to $1,995,000 for a small house, and monthly services fees ranging from $4,300 to $8,700 for one resident and $1,500 more for a second person. When the unit is vacated, 90 percent of the entrance fee is refundable to the residents or their heirs.
One-fifth of the units are reserved for people with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income for Westchester County, with entrance fees starting at $250,000.
Prices at Arizona State's project, Mirabella, range from the mid-$300,000s to more than $1 million for a penthouse apartment.
Retirees Judy Cohen and her husband, Martin, wondered whether they would be welcomed by the students, with Judy saying, 'The students have their own life. I don't know how many would want to come and sit with. …' Her husband added, 'Old people. Let's put the word out there.'
