Residential Management is changing fast.

Late last year I was invited to the grand opening of a large retirement village in the Midlands. We all imagine we know what retirement living might be like in our minds and perhaps we allow this to colour our opinion sometimes. I must admit to thinking I knew what to expect. I couldn't have been further from the truth.

Firstly the quality of the accommodation and the luxurious feel to the common areas far surpassed that of most blocks I have seen recently. There were marble floors, high spec. reception facilities and an excellent cafe, bar, gym and hairdresser.

I was taken on the grand tour by a resident. She told me of the fears she had before moving in and how these had all proved to be false. She talked enthusiastically about the gym and about how her fitness and mobility had improved so much since arriving. She told me of the sense of community and the pride taken by residents and of many new friends.

Standing under the giant atrium lights the CEO of the housing association responsible told me that there was a mix of owners, shared owners and renters, many paying more the £5k per year service charges. The flats were fully occupied within a few months. He pointed out the benefits to local businesses that ran the hairdresser, gym and cafe. He reminded me that 25% of the population would be over 70 in ten years time and that this type of accommodation was important and represented a huge opportunity - particularly if we could overcome some of the irrational local resistance they had unexpectedly faced.

The scheme is managed almost entirely on site with its own office and full time staff. Families come and go and if it was not for the wheelchair access doors and wider corridors you would never know that this facility was aimed entirely at the over 55s.

Like all new developments the concerns of those that had them were the typical concerns we see everywhere, parking, broadband, noise and a recently cancelled local bus route. Unlike most developments the community spirit and interest in the development was tangible.

Go and see a new retirement village and be as pleasantly surprised as I was. Both these and institutional PRS are going to change the way that we design, build and manage communities of the future. Who says we don't do community? Who says that management isn't collaborative? In the United States this type of development has been around for more than 30 years and we laughed at their "Sunshine" condos. Is it now time to take notice? Can we learn from them?

first published in RPM Jan 2015