BY JOANNE CARROLL
There”™s an issue brewing among baby boomers in lower Fairfield County, and it”™s a real eye-opener. The tables have turned and elder care, not child care, has become a primary concern impacting the lives of boomer employees.
“Elder care is a big issue in lower Fairfield County,” said Norwalk Chamber of Commerce President Ed Musante. “A couple of years ago, the chamber held a focus group with area employers to determine their child care needs. What we found was a real surprise. Baby boomer employees were taking sick days to care for their elderly parents, not their children.”
Statistics don”™t lie, and a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment of the eight lower Fairfield County towns conducted by Stamford Hospital revealed that about one in four households (26.4 percent) had at least one adult over the age of 65 living in it. Close to 14 percent of the population in the eight Gold Coast towns is age 65 or older and many boomer-age residents have a parent or parents either living with them or living out of town and needing assistance.
Connecticut House Republican Leader Larry Cafero, of Norwalk, has parents who are in their 90s. “As the son or daughter of aged parents, one of the most difficult decisions is taking mom and dad out of their home,” said Cafero. “Assisted living facilities are essential in allowing people to stay in the community where they are most comfortable.”
Brightview Senior Living and its parent company, The Shelter Group, based in Baltimore, closed on a four-acre property at 162 New Canaan Ave. and 9 Wood Acre Road in Norwalk April 17.
The company won unanimous Norwalk planning and zoning approvals to build a 90-apartment senior living community, which will provide assisted living as well as memory care for those suffering from Alzheimer”™s disease and dementia. Construction should be completed in mid-2015.
For several years, Brightview Senior Living has been searching for an appropriate site in lower Fairfield County, where few options for senior living exist. Jerry Effren of The Greyrock Cos. handled acquisition and entitlement for the Norwalk site, and as Shelter Development”™s exclusive Fairfield County representative, he is actively seeking additional Brightview Senior Living sites.
Architect Erik Anderson described the design for Brightview on New Canaan as a 2 ½-story, Victorian-style building in keeping with neighborhood single-family homes.
“The eastern portion of the four-acre site will be deeded to the Norwalk Land Trust to create a buffer to the surrounding neighborhood, like a typical backyard,” said land-use attorney Steve Grushkin.
The community will have studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and amenities such as dining and transportation as well as a 3,000-square-foot courtyard. A community dining room will serve chef-prepared meals with tableside service. A dedicated neighborhood known as Wellspring Village will accommodate residents with memory impairment. Service packages will be available to all residents to fit individual needs.
Brightview Senior Living L.L.C. opened its first senior living community in Maryland in 1997.
Today, there are 27 Brightview communities in eight states, including Evergreen Woods, a 237-unit independent living community with 40 skilled nursing beds on the shoreline in North Branford.
The need for quality elder care in lower Fairfield County is expected to increase exponentially over the next 20 years. At the public hearing for Brightview on New Canaan, Effren posed the question, “Where will the baby boomer generation go when they age?”
Joanne Carroll is publisher of Connecticut Builder magazine and a past president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Fairfield County.
