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New Springfield retirement development targets 'boomers'

Posted November 14, 2007 10:00 pm

Tim Landis

Don and Wanda Borchelt had plenty of retirement options. They even took a special tour of the country to check out the hottest spots east, south and west. In the end, they decided to stay in Springfield.

"We really don't like Florida, and Texas is worse," said Don Borchelt.

When it comes to checking in the briefcase and swapping dress shoes for sandals, even the city's most enthusiastic promoters concede Springfield hardly ranks nationally with such fun-in-the-sun destinations as Tempe, Ariz., or Naples, Fla. (also known as "Springfield South").

But the fact is, most people either don't have the resources to retire in Florida or Arizona or they want stay closer to home to be near friends and family, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and groups such as AARP.

"We had family here that we were taking care of, and after they were gone, we decided to stay," explained Wanda Borchelt.

The couple joined a standing-room-only crowd at a Thursday groundbreaking for a $34 million expansion of the Concordia Village retirement center that, when completed in the spring of 2009, will add 78 apartments, 14 patio homes and 48 assisted-living apartments to the existing 33 apartments at 4101 W. Iles Ave.

A coming wave of baby boomer retirements - and how demands of the '60s generation differ from "traditional" retirement communities - was taken note of by a variety of speakers at the event.

"I'm one of those baby boomers, and I understand the need for retirement facilities," remarked state Sen. Larry Bomke, a Springfield Republican.

Concordia Village is one of 20 facilities operated in Illinois and Missouri by St. Louis-based Lutheran Senior Services, but designers of the Springfield expansion said it is the first of its kind in Illinois built on the "Main Street Commons" concept.

"It's like an indoor town," said Jeff Mugg of Design Alliance architects in St. Louis, which has designed a number of LSS facilities.

The all-in-one neighborhood concept includes casual and formal dining, a deli, high-speed Internet, a media room complete with surround-sound theater, a library, bank, fitness center, chapel and even an ice cream parlor.

All are amenities driven by the boomers, according to LSS regional vice president Michael Raso.

"They certainly have changed things. Their expectations are different," said Raso.

While specifics were not available Thursday, he said the added apartments and homes would be targeted to middle-income residents.

He added that the first couple of boomers already are at Concordia Village, "but they still work full time."

The Concordia Village project, which will add more homes and skilled-care facilities in the second and third phases, is the latest in the steady expansion of retirement and health-care centers in the community.

City representatives at the ceremony said there are regular inquiries from other retirement-center developers, though no specific projects are in the works.

Wanda Borchelt said the couple already has reserved a spot in Concordia Village for 2009 and, while they are technically past the baby boom curve, like the emphasis on an active lifestyle.

"It's a place you come to live, not to die," she said.

Tim Landis can be reached at (217) 788-1536 or tim.landis@sj-r.com.

Staying put

n Less than 5 percent of people 55 and older move in any given year.

n 49 percent of those who do move stay in the same county, while only 25 percent move to another state.

n The most common reason for an out-of-state move is to be closer to family.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and AARP

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