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