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The Once and Future Design of Senior Living
Northwest architect Steve Wattenbarger knows how to design a good retirement community. He’s been doing it since 1975.
"I literally backed into it," Steve said in a recent interview with Northwest Prime Time.
"Early in my career I had worked on nursing homes and quite a few senior apartments, converting older hotels into senior housing."
Then, in the early 1980s, when the city of Seattle passed a $50 million bond issue to build senior apartments around the city, he became
involved in designing a model development for those projects.
"The city used our demonstration project as a model and selected developers would go out and obtain the land, design and build the facility,
and then hand over the keys to Seattle Housing Authority."
"During that process, I began doing research and quickly realized that there was not a lot of definitive data on how to design for seniors."
Most of the projects were aimed at the healthcare side of things—very institutional in their goals. He also found that there were not many
architects involved in senior housing.
The problems and issues surrounding senior housing design intrigued him. "I got hooked," says Steve.
He realized the need for producing senior communities that had residential qualities. "No one wants to live in an institution. Everyone
wants to live in a home," he says. "That was the impetus for me to continue on in the market."
His Bellevue-based firm, Wattenbarger Architects, founded in 1987, has a mission to improve the quality of life for seniors through design.
They design exclusively for older adults and providers of senior housing and long-term care. "It is our only focus," he says.
Interestingly, the Pacific Northwest is home to several of the nation’s top developers of senior housing, and Steve says he was lucky enough
to hook up with several of these powerhouse companies. Over the years, Steve has become nationally recognized for his work and as an author
and educator in the field of senior housing design. His firm has designed over 16,000 units of senior housing in 19 states, from independent
to assisted, Alzheimer's care and skilled, including continuing care communities.
"We’ve worked with both not-for-profit, faith-based providers of housing as well as for-profit developers and operators, and our designs
respond to a broad variety of architectural styles, geographic requirements, and operational and management approaches."
When asked about the changes in senior housing since he entered the field, Steve responds, "Happily, the major changes have resulted
in a more residential lifestyle for seniors." He remembers the early days, when there wasn’t a lot to choose from. The units were
small, many without kitchens. "Residents didn’t have a place to gather. Now, designing for a sense of community is our principal
goal. There is an emphasis on designing for active, independent seniors, and offering choices."
A new generation of consumers are entering the senior housing world, he says, a savvy generation looking for amenity-rich communities
and residential lifestyles.
"Part of the new approach is to offer upgraded amenities and many spaces and opportunities for people to get together. The next step
I see is a hospitality focus. A catered, resort-style, hospitality lifestyle has made its way into the senior housing marketplace."
The new communities are no longer need driven, he says, but will attract seniors who have choices in where they want to live.
Consumers are seeking more than fitness and recreation programs. They are looking for upgraded amenities, welcoming public spaces,
opportunities to entertain in their own apartments. Some communities provide wine cellars or lockers for residents, who can have
their favorite wine served with their meal. There is a trend toward larger units—some high end senior residences offer three bedrooms
and up to 2600 square feet. Even the more affordable units are in the 1100 to 1200 square foot range, he said.
He cites the main challenges in the industry as land costs, construction costs and the current lending crunch. It is easy to build
high-end products, he says, but it is incredibly difficulty to build affordable communities. Still, he remains optimistic that more
affordable communities will become available.
Although projects continue to be developed in outlying areas, there is a growing trend toward urban living. He also notes high
interest in communities that are "built green", using sustainable building practices.
The influx of boomers into the market will create even more changes and he predicts that senior housing will change as much in
the next 10 years as it has changed in the last 30.
When asked what projects he is especially proud of, he admits that is like asking which of your children is your favorite. He
mentions several Puget Sound projects, including University House at Issaquah, Fairwinds-Redmond, and Reunion at Redmond Ridge.
He is also proud of his own house, the first he’s ever designed for himself. He and his wife Carol moved in only a few months ago.
"At age 64, I’m becoming the market we design for," he jokes. And so he has a deepening appreciation of the value and purpose of
the communities he designs. His new home was built for "aging in place," using the best practices from what he’s been doing for
other folks all these years. It is a very thoughtful approach, incorporating one-level living with senior-friendly features—complete
with guest quarters which can also serve as a caregiver’s apartment, if and when they require that level of support.
While Steve and Carol plan to live in their new home for a long time to come, the choice calls to mind his own parents’ experience.
"My parents were able to stay home until the end but not without extraordinary help. In their later years they were basically prisoners
in their own home and they lost their outside social contacts. I think it is a shame when people make decisions based on their past
lives instead of looking at all the opportunities available to help them achieve the highest quality of life in the second half of
their lives. We never know when our mobility can change and when it does, it’s often too late to make a change in living arrangements."
Senior housing offers rich social opportunities, an active lifestyle, and support for people as they grow older. And thanks in part to
Steve Wattenbarger, senior housing has become a place people love to call home.
How does he sum up his decades of designing for seniors? "It is a dynamic and stimulating market. I’ve enjoyed the daylights out of it!"
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