Senior citizen housing booming in Ogden

Canal Town Landing, located on the western edge of Hickory Hollow in Spencerport, is an all-rental senior housing development that will consist of 30 townhouses, one single unit and duplexes and triplexes. Developer Mike LoPresti said he expects the entire project will be completed by September of this year. About half of the planned units have been leased, he said. An end unit with a two-car garage rents for $1,025/month; a middle unit with a one-car garage rents for $975/month. Photograph by Walter Horylev.

Senior citizen housing booming in Ogden

As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, many communities throughout the country face the challenges and changes needed to provide the necessary services many senior citizens want and need. Keeping seniors as residents is important to the demography of any community. Ogden's housing offerings for seniors expand in number and in variety of options.

Hickory Hollow, a senior citizen housing development project located in Spencerport, came into being in December 1999. The 52 acre independent living housing development project located off Spencerport Road across from Spencerport High School, consists of patio homes designed especially for senior citizens in a development zoned for senior housing. This project was the brainchild of developer Michael LoPresti. "We (LoPresti Homes) felt the need to keep our senior citizens in the area and to give our senior residents a quality product at a reasonable price," LoPresti said. He teamed up with Nothnagle Realtor Joyce Lobene and both worked with Bob Kincaid, who at that time was mayor of Spencerport, to make Hickory Hollow a reality.

Because of the growing need for senior citizen housing, LoPresti is expanding the subdivision. "We have units available for rent or purchase. We also have room for additional development and 16 patio homes will be constructed in Pirates Cove," LoPresti said. "A new development adjacent to Hickory Hollow called Canal Town Landing will consist of 29 townhouses and one patio home."

While many of these housing developments are new, Lobene, a longtime Spencerport resident and a realtor with Nothnagle Realty, said that senior housing in Ogden is not a new concept. She remembers how almost 25 years ago she worked on a senior housing project committee. "Gay Lenhard and I were on a committee called Senior Adult Housing and Recreation (SAHAR) and we worked to explore senior housing opportunities." (At the time Lenhard was assistant to the supervisor. She is currently supervisor).

Lobene, a resident of Hickory Hollow, describes the residents of this cluster of homes as "a very warm and caring community." Further, she characterizes the group as a "good mixture of people that want to stay in the area and new people who came to Hickory Hollow because their families live in the area." Lobene credits the Spencerport-Ogden community for attracting new senior residents to the area. "People love our village and town and all the amenities they have to offer," she explained. This close knit group of Hickory Hollow people celebrates holidays together and has many other social activities such as a golf league, a garden club, a book club.

Plans for more senior citizen housing in the town of Ogden and village of Spencerport could augment the opportunities for seniors. Developer Gary Inzana of Village Square Management offers two senior independent living housing developments, Ogden-Spencerport Senior Living, located on Union Street next to Terry A. Taylor Elementary School, and a development called Ogden-Spencerport Senior Living at Big Ridge, located across from Monroe2-BOCES on Big Ridge Road. The Ogden-Spencerport Senior Living project consists of 20 townhouse rental units. According to Inzana, "All of these units are rented, however, one unit will become available in March."

Inzana explains that he had many reasons for bringing this project to the Spencerport-Ogden area. He had already built a senior citizen subdivision in Spencerport that consists of six townhouses and opened in 1992. "One big reason for me (to build senior housing) is because I live here, and I saw a need for this type of housing. I enjoy the company of and like dealing with senior citizens," said Inzana. The new project will consist of six townhouse rentals and is currently under construction with completion slated for early summer.

A public hearing regarding another senior citizen development was held on January 26 at the Ogden Community Center. The proposed plan for this project is a senior citizen subdivision of 34.4 acres for 42 single family and 38 townhouse lots in a senior citizen subdivision located on the north side of Route 531, west of the existing Timber Ridge Community. Village Pines LLC is the developer of this project. Paul Crowell and David Wohlers are partners in Village Pines LLC.
Crowell describes this project as housing for "active adults." He said, "The baby boomer generation is a huge demographic who is turning 60 this year, and their housing needs are changing. We saw a need to develop this type of housing in Ogden." At the January 26 public hearing, Crowell and Wohlers received "preliminary approval for the entire subdivision and final approval for the first phase of the project," Crowell said.

Phase one of the project is the construction of 12 single family patio homes and 16 townhouses. "We hope to break ground within the next eight weeks," Crowell said. "We have just a few items to get approved, one being the homeowners' association approval from the state."

Jack Crooks, building inspector for the Town of Ogden, attributes this boom in senior housing to the "baby boomers reaching retirement age. Many of our residents are retiring at an early age, and want to stay in this area," he said. "Senior housing has many convenience factors, with low or minimal maintenance," he said.

According to Crooks, "Two other developers have approached the Town of Ogden to develop more senior citizen housing, one in conjunction with Unity Health. This proposed project would include apartments, assisted living apartments and professional offices for doctors' offices and other healthcare professionals."