Apr. 23, 2008
WINDSOR RUN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY IN MATTHEWS
Developers say planned 83-acre campus on McKee Road will be a self-sufficient `town'

DOUG SMITH

A new continuing-care retirement community taking shape in Matthews is certain to be the southeast Mecklenburg town's Next Big Thing in residential development.

Windsor Run is expected to grow to 1,100 residences -- about twice as many as the town's largest subdivision -- over more than five years.

Erickson Communities, a Maryland-based development and management company with 21 campuses nationwide, has opened an on-site sales office in Matthews and is preparing to break ground in October on the estimated $150 million project.

Its first Carolinas community will introduce adults 62 and older to a "middle income" retirement concept it pioneered: a 100 percent refundable entrance deposit coupled with fees for only the services they use.

The lowest priced single-occupancy one-bedroom unit, for example, requires a $170,000 deposit plus a monthly service fee of $1,350 that includes one meal a day and covers virtually every service but the phone bill.

The full deposit is refundable to the resident if he leaves or to his estate at the end of his life.

Erickson says the campus on 83 acres of the Fincher Farm on McKee Road will be a self-sufficient "town" with transportation, grounds maintenance, housekeeping, security, emergency response and other services.

Three-and four-story residential structures will be connected to a two-story clubhouse by a network of enclosed walkways among more than a dozen buildings.

On-site amenities will include restaurants, stores, fitness center, aquatic center, spa/salon, bank, library, 24-hour concierge and medical center staffed by physicians specializing in geriatrics.

The campus also will have assisted-living and long-term care skilled nursing components.

As promising as all that might sound for aging adults, the proposal touched off one of the most controversial rezonings in Matthews in a decade and created what some characterized as a young-against-old divide.

During months of public debate last year the key issues boiled down to the size and scale of the campus in close proximity to neighborhoods with young families and the potential for more traffic congestion.

The rezoning was approved in August after Erickson committed to numerous compromises.

"They were extremely agreeable," said Planning Director Kathi Ingrish. "They went out of their way to work with anyone and everyone to make concessions as best they could."

Erickson pared the project from 1,200 to 1,100 living units and consented, among other things, to limit building heights to below four stories, phase development, plant berms, provide buffers, donate land and money for a park and help pay for extending McKee Road and other road improvements.

Real estate watchers say they wouldn't be surprised to see young-versus-old controversies surface in future projects for aging adults as the Charlotte region's popularity as a retirement destination increases.

Recent announcements in the area include Oregon-based Holiday Retirement's plans for projects in Concord, northeast Charlotte and Mint Hill.

Another developer has begun an active-adult community in Cornelius, and Presbyterian Hospital and Drucker & Falk are planning a continuing-care retirement community across from SouthPark mall.

In Lancaster County, S.C., Del Webb's Sun City Carolina Lakes active-adult community has sold more than 900 homes and expects to eventually reach 4,000.

The boom is continuing in Matthews as well.

The owner of the existing Plantation Estates retirement community wants to develop 44 acres at South Trade Street and Fullwood Lane as a village of 463 continuing care units.

Mayor Lee Myers said Matthews' positive experience with Plantation Estates over more than 20 years helped persuade him that Erickson's Windsor Run could be an asset to the town.

"If you tap that resource of time and knowledge -- they have time on their hands and a wealth of knowledge -- it can add to your community," he said.

As for the rezoning, he said, single-family housing on the Fincher Farm acreage would have greater impact on traffic congestion and school overcrowding than senior housing.

Retirement community residents usually don't travel during peak hours, and they don't have school-age children, Myers said.

"So by using this property for a seniors community you are eliminating those two big contributors to our infrastructure issues," he said.

Erickson says its projects have a positive impact on local economies, generating capital investment, tax revenue and jobs -- usually about 1,000 per campus.

The first phase of Windsor Run, to be started in October, will include a clubhouse and about 130 homes to be completed by October 2009.

Beth Wolff, regional sales director, said additional buildings will be constructed in future phases based on market demand.

In its negotiations with Matthews, Erickson agreed to limit occupancy to no more than 250 dwelling units in a calendar year, to ease the impact on neighbors.

Wolff said Erickson anticipates high demand in Matthews and likely will follow that campus with others in the region.

Windsor Run

Location: Welcome center open at 2010 McKee Road.

Sales: Applicants pay $1,000 to place names on a priority list plus a $150 per person application processing fee. The $1,000 is refundable.

Costs: To purchase a residence, buyers place a refundable deposit on one of more than 20 one- and two-bedroom floor plans. The lowest priced one-bedroom unit requires a $170,000 deposit. Residents also pay monthly service fees starting at $1,350 per person.

Clubhouse: Two restaurants, aquatics and fitness centers, creative arts studio, computer lab, billiards room, game lounge, classroom, library, medical center with full-time physicians, convenience shop, bank, postal center, day spa.

Amenities: Free local transportation, housekeeping, grounds maintenance, security, emergency response services.

Timetable: Groundbreaking planned for October; first 130 homes and the clubhouse are to be completed in October 2009.

Local team: Tom Senger, director of sales.

Information: www.ericksoncommunities.com.

Windsor Run agreement

Here are some of the things Erickson Communities has agreed to do in Matthews:

• Pay $3 million toward extension of McKee Road or any other road project the town deems important to Windsor Run and people living near it.

• Deed a 20-acre park parcel at McKee and Pleasant Plains roads to Matthews.

• Pay property taxes in perpetuity to the town and county, even if Windsor Run's successor is a not-for-profit entity.

• Pay $1 million to the town, to be used by its parks, recreation and cultural resources department for park construction, improvement and maintenance.

• Assign Erickson's security staffers to act as first responders on the town's emergency response team.

• Pay a fire impact fee of $20,000 for each residential and assisted living/nursing building on the planned 13-building campus.

• Change site plan to include a tree buffer between the west boundary and single-family houses, eliminate two wings near the west boundary, add buffer planting materials along the Village of St. Andrews subdivision, extend a berm planned at McKee and Pleasant Plains. Doug Smith