Student Studio Envisions Boomer Housing in Uptown

Bellevue Gardens, Stetson Square and Stratford Heights are three of the most recent developments completed in the Uptown area.

And if UC planning and anthropology students who just participated winter quarter in the university’s Niehoff Urban Studio have their way, a new kind of development will some day come to the area: Residential and commercial development that specifically targets Baby Boomers.

The studio class was led by Frank Russell, director of UC’s Community Design Center, and by Martha Rees, associate professor of anthropology.

Russell explained that the studio exercise was prompted by recent trends in European and U.S. development efforts to specifically link senior housing targeting Baby Boomers to the amenities offered by universities. He added, “Housing options targeting the growing population segment of the Boomers are rich in amenities. One of the trends taking shape – one of the amenities offered – is a close linkage with a university where Boomers can take classes, take advantage of cultural opportunities, use the exercise facilities and more. Uptown could be a particularly appealing area for Boomers not only because of the university but because of the proximity of the Cincinnati Zoo and of several major hospitals.”

Population trends locally, nationally and even internationally certainly would favor the students’ plans for Boomer housing in Uptown. Eighty million Americans alive today were born between 1946 and 1964. This 29 percent of the population makes up the Baby Boomers, and all manner of institutions – including universities, health-care facilities and even municipalities – are taking note. For instance, the University of California-Irvine now offers a Boomer Generation Program, consisting of classes specifically geared to the Boomer demographic.

That fits with broader trends as the percentage of seniors aged 66 to 74 who participate in university adult education program has more than doubled between 1990 and the year 2000. Thus, according to Russell, meeting the needs of seniors for a housing community with university-affiliated learning opportunities is an option being explored here in the U.S. and in Europe.

“For the first time in the U.S. history, there are more people over 65 than people under age 25. That means that transgenerational products – a design that all generations can use in terms of housing, education or even a hand held item like an ice-cream scoop – are going to be in demand,” added Russell.

To examine these trends and how they might fit with development in the Uptown area, eight planning students from UC’s top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning as well as 12 anthropology students from UC’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences participated in the Niehoff Studio exercise led by Russell and Rees. The anthropology students focused on research, surveys and interviews to determine market wants and needs while the planning students focused on overall design concepts.

One concept designed by student Jason Burns, 21, of Delhi, was titled “The Village at UC: College Living the Second Time Around” which he proposed locating in an underused area bordered by Vine Street, McMillan Avenue, Auburn Avenue and Hollister Street. “Right now, that area has a bowl-shaped, undeveloped parcel that is  lightly wooded and used for tennis and basketball courts. I’d propose moving those recreational facilities to an area that would serve the existing residents better. Their current location presents safety concerns because of the topography of the land,” explained Burns.

The housing development he envisioned consisted of independent cottages, assisted-living apartments as well as options for living that provide nursing care and Alzheimer’s treatment. Burns stated that his proposal, which focused on life-long learning as an amenity, would be similar in density to the existing development of Stratford Heights. He added that such a development would benefit the community overall because it would strengthen the existing commercial entities in the neighborhoods.

“It would be a place where seniors could conveniently meet all their needs for the rest of their lives,” he said.

In a conceptual design titled “The Sophisticate,” planning student Rebecca Tangeman, 22, of Minster, Ohio, created plans for a 2.1 acre development to appeal to Boomers interested in environmental sustainability.

The two-building development of loft-style condos would feature green roofs (roofs with greenhouses for residents’ vegetable gardens, flower beds and grass), green courtyards along with an outdoor marketplace adjacent to the development. The buildings’ design would make maximum use of natural light. For instance, the top floors of each building would feature glass hallways to incorporate as much natural light into the structures as possible – along with glass staircases and elevators.

Explained Tangeman, “The greenery actually performs the work of insulation. So, the building is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. The use of glass to bring in natural light not only saves on energy but helps to foster community connectons.”

Tangeman sited her low-rise buildings along the south side of Calhoun Street, just west of Scioto Street. The challenge for her was to be found in the fact that the available strip of land at that site is only 200 feet wide. She said, “An urban, infill site like this makes it difficult to incorporate open, green spaces into a concept, but in the end, I was able to do so because I see it as such a priority for the community.”