New development aimed at downsizing baby

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SUNDAY, march 9, 2008 • TIMES UNION • ALBANY, NY
INSIDE
> NEIGHBORHOODS
Guilderland’s
Pinehaven Estates
lives up to its name./7
Park place
New development aimed at
downsizing baby boomers./4
TRAVEL
&
BOOKS
SECTI
ON
inside
BLACK
COVER STORY
A
new
nest
With their
kids gone,
development
offers
boomers
another
housing
option
CYAN
Y
Whelan said the community will attract active baby
boomers whose needs are changing. ‘‘They no longer
need the large Colonials they have in suburbia,’’ she said.
‘‘Instead, they want to come back to something with more
of an urban appeal; actually it will have what we call a soft
urban feel to it.’’
Certainly, this development won’t be inner-city urban,
but situated on the lip of Wolf Road, it will be within
walking distance of just about anything, including the
newly renovated and expanded Colonie Center and its
soon-to-open Regal Cinemas.
A 2006 research project conducted by the Research
Institute for Housing America in Washington, D.C.,
noted a trend toward empty-nesters selling suburban
homes in areas with good schools and purchasing real
estate in urban areas to take advantage of urban amenities.
It also found that future listings by older homeowners will
be an important source in the supply of existing homes for
On the cover:
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B Y d an h owley
staff writer
Changing needs
ANNA KINTZ, design center coordinator at Barbera Homes, shows one of many cabinet options for use in the kitchens of town houses at Parkside at the Crossings in Colonie.
YELLOW
DEVELOPER FRANK BARBERA, left, design
coordinator Anna Kintz and Patricia Whelan of
Realty USA stand on a stair sample at Barbera
Homes Design Center, where buyers will make
interior design choices for their new town houses at
Parkside at the Crossings. Above is the plot plan.
ou’ve had a successful career, maybe not
ready to retire but probably could. You own
a big home in the suburbs. Your kids have
moved away and have their own kids now.
You’re left with more house than you need, and you no
longer derive any amusement from cutting the grass and
shoveling snow.
There’s a 68-unit, high-end town house project going
to be built in Colonie designed for people like you.
Parkside at the Crossings will be on 17 acres at the
intersection of Sand Creek and Aviation roads, immediately
north of the roundabout that leads to Colonie Center. It
will be flanked on its northern edge by The Crossings of
Colonie, the town’s sprawling new park.
Restricted to buyers who are at least 55, it is in keeping
with a national trend in housing that caters to baby
boomers. But make no mistake, it in no way should be
mistaken for a senior housing complex.
‘‘They would cringe if you called them seniors,’’ said
Patricia Whelan, associate broker with Realty USA and
sales coordinator for the project. ‘‘They won’t be rocking
on the porch. They’ll be rocking on their bicycles.’’
PHOTOS BY LUANNE M. FERRIS/TIMES UNION
MAGENTA
Patricia Whelan of Realty USA and developer Frank Barbera
look over the plans for Parkside at the Crossings, a highend town house project designed for active baby boomers.
Photo by Luanne M. Ferris/Times Union
sale, and those older sellers looking to buy another home
represent an important source of demand, especially for
smaller homes with desirable features.
The two-story attached town houses, ranging in size
from 1,860 to 2,400 square feet, will be in two-, threeand four-unit buildings, according to developer Frank
Barbera of Barbera Homes. He said prices will run from
the high $300,000s to the high $400,000s.
Barbera said he has a waiting list of potential buyers
who have shown an interest and who have been following
the project, but that selling won’t begin until late summer.
He said the plan is to break ground for the infrastructure
in the spring and begin construction of the first units by
late summer.
The first homeowners should be in there in about a
year, he said, adding he expects it will be three to five
years before all the units are built and sold.
Unique look
One of the most appealing aspects of the community,
he said, is that each home will have a unique look and will
be set at different elevations.
‘‘We have the ability to mix and match where the units
go, and we are going to professionally coordinate the
exteriors,’’ Barbera said. ‘‘It was very important to the town
that the exteriors all be unique, individually attractive.
‘‘There will be a mixture of design elements, from
siding to cedar shakes to cultured stone. The use of color
will also be important because we don’t want to end up
with a monotone neighborhood.’’
Whelan said the project will bear no resemblance to
the droning sameness of cookie-cutter developments and
certainly will look nothing like an apartment complex.
‘‘Even in the four-unit buildings, each home will be on
a different level, so that when you drive down the street
you’ll be able to tell which house is yours,’’ she said.
One thing you won’t see is neighbors mowing their
lawns, trimming hedges or handling snowblowers. As
members of the Parkside Homeowners Association,
residents will be afforded maintenance-free living for a
yet-undetermined monthly fee.
Besides grounds care and assuring the neighborhood’s
architectural integrity, Barbera said another advantage of
a homeowners association is its buying power. He said it
can mean lower costs for things such as cable television,
driveway work and roofing.
New communities
Barbera said that while the number of 55-plus agerestricted projects is growing nationwide, Parkside will
Parkside living
Here are some Parkside design and proximity
advantages:
X Open floor plans
X High-end kitchens
X First-floor master suites
X Private outdoor courtyard space
X Ecologically ‘‘green’’ building features
X Walking distance to Crossings Town Park with
biking, nature and walking paths; Rudy A. Ciccotti
Family Recreation Center; Colonie Center; just five
minutes to Albany International Airport and access
to major highways and arterials.
For more information, contact Barbera Homes at
690-0777.
be among a small group of them in the Capital Region.
There are existing communities in North Greenbush,
Amsterdam and Milton, he said, and proposed projects in
Bethlehem, Guilderland and Altamont.
Both Barbera and Whelan said the buyer profile for
Parkside makes it especially appealing from a selling
standpoint, even in the face of a struggling real estate market.
‘‘They have the income and the means to make this
buying decision,’’ Barbera said. ‘‘They have homes to
sell and they can afford this. In a sense, this is not typical.
This is a lifestyle change, and it’s within their means, and
it’s unique in that there is nothing like it here right now.’’
‘‘Their kids can come with their kids, who will have
lots of room to stay and places to play,’’ she said. ‘‘And
the boomers will want their kids to stay a few days. They
won’t want them to be just in and out.’’
Whelan said it’s not just what it is, but where it is that
makes it so attractive.
‘‘This is not suburban sprawl,’’ she said. ‘‘They won’t even
have to get into their car. It’s an easy walk to everything.’’
? Dan Howley can be reached at 454-5321 or by
e-mail at dhowley@timesunion.com.