May, 2011
Lawrence Chamber of Commerce
Senior Council
Report
Summary Statement of the Senior Council:
In the past year and a half the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Senior Council has studied the probable impacts of increased numbers of affluent retirees moving to Lawrence and Douglas County. We have looked at other communities’ experiences, rates of influx, availability of right-size and right-priced low maintenance housing, Lawrence capacity for health care and availability of medical professionals (especially in light of new federal health care laws), potential need for transportation services, impacts on social services and other community infrastructure, and the cost/benefits of such influx.
This report summarizes the findings of the Senior Council. The council has made a few formal recommendations, and will continue to study the issues so as to provide the Chamber Board with recommended actions and policy decisions. It is important the Chamber understand the role that retirees will play in this community whether or not the Chamber takes advantage of the influx.
The Chamber must understand two truths.
The influx of affluent retirees is positive economic development.
The Senior Journal indicated that when seniors move into an area they create one job for every 1.8 retirees. A study for the State of Georgia noted the impact of a retired couple has the same economic impact to a community as the attraction of 3.4 manufacturing jobs.
The community is not prepared for the expected influx.
Whether we prepare for it or not, they will come.
Over the next 20 years, Douglas County will have the 4th highest increase in the older adult population in the State. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; summary Wichita State Center for Economic Development and Business Research).
Background
The recently completed assessment “Attracting Retirees to Lawrence/Douglas County 2010” (John Glassman, Vantage Pointe Foundation, attached) shows population centers that are retiree destinations are growing and that manufacturing and agricultural-based communities are not. In Kansas, over 80 counties are losing population while Douglas County is growing. As a result, many communities are taking a second look at retiree recruitment as an economic development strategy.
The assessment further showed that retirees who relocate to another community to retiree are an important economic resource and will become even more important with the aging of the baby boom generation. Increasingly communities around the country are developing plans and strategies to attract these migrating retirees to their communities. From 2000 to 2008 the population of those age 60+ adults in Douglas County increased by 41% compared to just a 14.4% increase in the overall population. Douglas County residents ages 60-64 (Baby Boomers) grew by 70% while Douglas County residents ages 85+ grew by over 50%.
In light of this, The Senior Council recommends: Lawrence and Douglas County should carefully evaluate the appropriateness of encouraging retiree in-migration.
With this growth projection, we will need to determine if developing a retiree attraction strategy fits within the community’s broader, sustainable development policy.
Retiree Attraction as Economic Development
Traditionally, economic development has focused on the attraction and
expansion of industrial and commercial businesses.
Many people do not connect retiree attraction with economic development because it does not fit the traditional economic development model. Nevertheless, attracting retirees has essentially the same ultimate effect on the local economy as attracting new businesses. Senior Journal indicated that when seniors move into an area they create one job for every 1.8 retirees. A study for the State of Georgia noted the impact of a retired couple has the same economic impact to a community as the attraction of 3.4 manufacturing jobs.
From an economic development perspective, many communities have
determined it advantageous to supplement traditional economic development strategies with retiree recruitment efforts. While no one is advocating an economic development strategy that ignores the traditional development efforts, adding a retiree recruitment strategy is seen by many as a good supplement to existing strategies.
The 50+ market is not only the fastest growing market sector but is also the wealthiest market sector in the country. Before retirement, members of this market saw their incomes grow at the fastest rate in America's history. This market currently controls half of the country's discretionary income.
According to Dr. Mark Fagan, professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Alabama's Jacksonville State University, members of this 50+ market:
Retirees relocate to areas with amenities such as the University of Kansas that provide them with the comfortable lifestyle they desire for their retirement. Their steady incomes are not vulnerable to cyclic economic activity and are used primarily for discretionary spending. The impact of this discretionary spending usually occurs at the local level, leading to increased economic development and job creation in the community of relocation.
As communities understand the net benefits of retiree attraction, more are beginning to recruit these affluent retirees, who bring many benefits to their communities:
Affluent retirees also do not pollute or destroy the environment and do not place added strain on schools, social services, criminal justice systems, or health care systems.
Retiree attraction has a strong upside as a source of economic development, adding to the existing mature market of a community and increasing the importance of that segment.
As with all other forms of economic development, retiree attraction has its disadvantages. The primary disadvantage may be the lack of support by retirees for increased taxes to support local schools. Some retirees may outlive their health coverage and place health care demands on the local community. Retirees will also bring their ideas on how things should be done in the local community, and current local residents may be resentful of these new ideas. However, with careful planning, most disadvantages can be minimized, and the advantages often far outdistance the disadvantages.
Affluent retirees look for a combination of the following: favorable climate, good medical care, quality housing at reasonable prices, safe and quiet neighborhoods, lower cost of living, quality recreational attractions, interesting cultural attractions, and convenient shopping.
These amenities and features must be analyzed to establish the desirability of a potential retirement destination. David Savageau in his book Retirement Places Rated (4th Edition, 1995) establishes seven criteria for rating potential retirement locations: money matters, housing, climate, personal safety, services, work opportunities, and leisure activities.
These rating factors involve the following:
Savageau's highest ranking places are those that offer the best retirement living in the greatest number of categories, even though they may have been lacking in one area or another. According to Savageau, it takes the average person five years to decide where to retire.
Summary
The process of attracting retirees is a long-term venture. It takes time to establish a successful program. Our goal is to persuade someone that our community is right for them.
Many communities have already begun to build the cross-cutting partnerships needed to address the multifaceted challenges that come with a maturing population.
Attracting retirees is no economic panacea, although it does allow for economic diversification and stabilization. It is a low risk strategy with a good return on investment.
Following this report is a summary of the specific items that require evaluation, consideration and possible action by the Chamber, the city of Lawrence, and Douglas county.
Acknowledgements
Special acknowledgement to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) and the Office on Long Aging and Long Term Care (OALTC) in the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare for their published publications and research which served as the primary resources for the development of this document.
Attachments
Attracting Retirees to Lawrence/Douglas County; OALTC
Why Attract Retirees to Your Community; ACES
Marketing Your Community to Attract Retirees; ACES
Establishing a Retiree Attraction Program to your Community; ACES
Prepared By: John Glassman, Vantage Pointe Foundation, Chamber of Commerce Senior Council Members: Lee Gerhard and Carol Francis and Lawrence chamber of Commerce’s Hank Booth. The entire Senior Council has participated in development of and reviewing this report.
TOPICAL DISCUSSIONS
The City of Lawrence
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Visitors notice to their amazement that the City of Lawrence and Douglas County are not flat. Lawrence Is located in a hilly scenic part of eastern Kansas, far from the legendary Kansas flatlands. It has a compromise climate, one that father bear would have approved, not too cold, not too hot. Just right. Lawrencians experience all four seasons, but the snow does not last and sometimes does not even stick. Summers can be warm and sticky, but the temperature rarely exceeds 100 degrees F. Spring and Fall are absolutely delightful seasons.
This community of about 100,000 people keeps itself well. Houses are in good repair, yards neat and orderly, streets and gutters clean, trash nowhere in evidence except in barrels on collection day. Landscaping ot he city has been a hallmark of its maturation and its many parks and open spaces beckon the visitor and the resident.
The hundred thousand people represent an unusual mix of nationalities, religions, colors and ages, in large part because of the presence of the University of Kansas and its attendant faculty, staff, and students. Thus the population is also well-educated, and they insist on good schools for their children.
Politically the city is divided geographically. North Lawrence, East Lawrence and Central Lawrence, including the university, tend to vote for liberal candidates and policies and have a relatively stable population, including 25,000 students. West Lawrence is a rapidly growing residential and commercial area that tends to vote conservatively. It makes for interesting local campaigns.
The city is governed by a City Commission and City Manager. The mayors are selected by vote of the commission, but are traditionally the largest vote total generators in the preceding elections and serve a one-year term. The county is governed by a County Commission and county Administrator. There are three commissioners representing specific areas.
One of the strengths of the city is that is it located centrally to the state capitol, Topeka, Overland Park, Kansas, the Kansas City suburb that has been dynamic and bustling, and only fifty miles from the Kansas City international airport, reached by interstate highways. Interstate 70 and the Kansas Turnpike lies along the northern margin of the city, and it is also served by railroad. The city airport is small and currently has no commercial service.
Costs of this pleasant ambience are borne by city residents in the form of high property and sales taxes, some of which have resulted from citizen votes and some of which are mandated. Property taxes are high because the largest employer in the area, the University of Kansas, pays no property taxes and no “in lieu” payments. Coupled to this is the anti-factory/ industrial development bias of many citizens. Fights over Walmart , shopping malls, and lower-wage factories are legendary. Increasing the number of affluent retirees will help spread the property tax burden.
Because Lawrence has a large young person population with accompanying social venues and because it lies between two large metropolitan areas, Lawrence has seen the rise of street gang activity, mostly associated with the late night entertainment venues, but also with the ever-present drug problem of all cities, compounded by the large number of young people because of the university. |
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The Senior Council recommends that the city pay particular attention to decreasing gang-related street crime in Lawrence.
Access and Transportation
Among the most important questions retirees face is how to move around town if no longer able to drive. Lawrence has already addressed that primary concern by establishing a bus service, but the stops are distant enough from current residential areas that it is not used as frequently as it should be. Taxis are available also, but they are not a highly visible service. If Lawrence is to significantly grow its retiree community, transportation services will need to be improved.
Some improvements that may be useful are creation of “park and ride” centers, scheduled service to new and developing retiree areas, and encouragement for increasing taxi service. As new retirement residential centers develop, it might be useful to have golf cart “park and rides” for those new neighborhoods, with street access for the carts on development streets.
The Senior Council recommends that the city and county jointly plan for increased needs for public transportation over the next ten years and beyond.
Two other issues require attention. The lack of sidewalks in various parts of
the city is a problem. Affluent retirees in their fifties and sixties will
exercise, many be walking. Major thoroughfares like Bob Billings Parkway
should be lined on both sides with sidewalks.
The Senior Council recommends that all new residential development should be required to have full sidewalks, and consideration be given to joint city/property owner special improvement districts designed to augment our sidewalks and bike lanes.
The remaining transportation issue will be difficult and expensive to solve. Lawrence street surfaces are deteriorating faster than they can be replaced and are an embarrassment to the city. Economic development of any kind requires a initial favorable impression of the potential new location. Our streets do not give that impression. Lawrence citizens recently passed a bond issue for anew library, a commendable goal. But a street repair bond issue might have done more for community ambience.
The Senior Council recommends that street surface upgrading be made a priority in future planning and budgeting of the city.
Housing
Lawrence has sufficient housing for its current needs. What it doesn’t have is housing designed for active adults who no longer wish to be tied to yard work and exterior maintenance. Several excellent progressive care facilities are already present, but there is a current and future need for housing that permits retirees and other s to have single-family privacy while enjoying care-free travel for extended periods but at medium cost.
Bringing new affluent retirees to Lawrence means providing more housing options.
There are at least three of these developments available at the present time. The Villas have two vacancies, Brandon Woods appears to have two vacancies, and Chipperfield has one vacancy based on a casual drive-through.
High-end condominiums have not sold well in Lawrence. Both the Lofts and Bella Sera have had difficulty in selling out their units, owing in part to the economic downturn, but also, we think, overestimating the price resilience of Lawrence retirees. At the same time, we commend the developers of “The Lofts” for bringing much-needed upscale living units to downtown Lawrence.
Observations of retiree housing developments in Nashville, Phoenix, Tucson and other places suggests that Lawrence needs a variety of pricing options, possibly in centralized “communities” but perhaps in smaller footprints. It was suggested that single developments with a central core of essential services encompassing single family and multiple family housing, all handicap accessible and golf cart friendly would be a significant addition to Lawrence’s ability to attract desirable retirees.
Such housing should be either single story or “power-stair” adaptable, with such amenities as sit-down showers, wide doors and hallways, and no steps between living space and garage, for instance. Elimination of stairs is a major design factor.
Square footage options should include 1500 to 2200 feet with prices in the range of 125 to 175 dollars per foot, or $187,500 to $385,000.
Responsibility for such housing development resides in the private sector, although a joint review of pertinent development and building regulations and standards by the city/county and private sector developers might be useful.
The Senior Council recommends that a task force of planners and developers be created to assess the needs and impacts of new housing for desirable retirees.
Health Care
Lawrence has outstanding medical care. In addition, it is close to significantly greater care levels in the Kansas City area, including the University of Kansas Hospital and Medical Center, which is attempting to become a regional cancer center as well. There are tow medical issues that require attention.
Demands of less affluent people on the current medical care system forces costs to rise for insurance companies and private patients. Reimbursement rates by Medicare and Medicaid do not cover the costs of care in most instances. Physicians and other health care professionals are forced to either raise fees to private patients or to restrict their practices. It is a common belief among our physician Senior Council members and those with whom we have conferred that eventually all physicians will have to be employees of hospital systems as they are forced out of private practice by federal mandates.
Congruent with that issue, is the problem of newcomers locating a family physician willing to accept new Medicare patients. We are advised that this is a serious current problem and is only likely to exacerbated with time and more retiree influx. This is the most serious barrier to attracting affluent retirees to Lawrence today.
It has also been observed that Lawrence’s medical practices are short of geriatric specialties.
Impacts of federal legislation in the medical and healthcare arena are not yet sure. Contentious litigation and legislation is most likely and no one knows the end result. All of this will have impacts on the region’s ability to provide health care. It is beyond the purvey of the Senior Council to further explore this area, but it is necessary that our colleagues on the City Commission and County Commission be aware of these problems.
Recreation and Community Involvement
Lawrence is blessed with extensive and wide ranging recreational and community involvement opportunities, too numerous to list. We have the University of Kansas with its sports, cultural and intellectual activities. We have the Lawrence Arts Center, the library, the Aquatic Center and a public swimming pool, an arboretum, and a plethora of parks and trails. There are four eighteen-hole golf courses, two of them public, and a nine-hole course. There is Clinton Lake and marina, Lone star Lake, and Douglas County Lake all with fishing access wit Lake Perry not that far away.
There is a vibrant arts community and many fitness opportunities, both organized and individual. Red Dog fitness activities are unique to Lawrence.. Service clubs abound and there are numerous charitable organizations in need of volunteers. Perhaps the only improvements desired would be better access to hunting opportunities and for Kansas River canoeing. The Department of Wildlife and Parks has done an outstanding job of hunting access through its “Walk-in Hunting Areas” that it leases from private landowners, although they are not abundant in Douglas County.
Lawrence residents pay high taxes, recreational and involvement opportunities are one result.
The Senior Council recommends continued efforts by the Douglas County Commission to enhance parks and other recreational access in Douglas County.
Social Services
Increased retirees in Lawrence will not seriously impact social services until advanced aging sets in. Lawrence and Douglas County have the necessary infrastructure in place to handle expected new users, although owing to the some of the same issues as health care, the costs for the services may outstrip the ability to pay for them. A reluctance to pay the additional costs for less-affluent users may impact this area.
The Senior Council recommends monitoring carefully the needs for and uses of social services in order to predict future needs as they may arise.
Shopping
A perennial area of debate, shopping has changed in Lawrence over the last decades. It is a worry to the Senior Council that downtown Lawrence is descending into an “Aggieville” of tee shirt shops and bars.
Maintaining a healthy Downtown Lawrence is crucial to maintaining the ambience of Lawrence as a destination community for affluent retirees. Downtown Lawrence is Lawrence. Without its retail and dining Lawrence would be just another community with a university.
With both Johnson County and Legends being in close proximity, it is tough for Lawrence business people to make a profit and maintain our downtown.
The Senior Council recommends that all efforts to assist downtown merchants prosper be supported by all parts of government. More new and reasonably affordable housing units and infrastructure to attract more people to live downtown is likely the only long-term solution.