College campuses are home to new retirement homes


College campuses across North America are often known for their wild parties and co-ed mingling, but according to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, college campuses may soon be known for something else: being home to retirement homes.

According to the newspaper, more senior living communities are being moved to college and university campuses across the United States, primarily to cut costs and to provide residents with amenities which are already offered in the vicinity.

With the U.S. economic slowdown in 2008, the trend of senior living communities on campuses slowed, but with the recent pickup in the American housing market, things are changing.

“Isolation is the downfall of many older adults,” Paula Panchuck, vice president of Lasell Village, a retirement community based out of Lasell College.

To that end, the Massachusetts retirement home is doing its best to get its residents engaged and involved with their local neighborhood; it requires them to complete 450 hours of volunteer, work, or educational projects. That’s equivalent to nearly nine hours per week.

Lasell Village homes start at about $300,000, and can rise to as much as $800,000 and range in size from 800 square feet to 2,000 square feet, but most of that is refundable upon the death or departure of the resident, according to the newspaper article. Monthly fees average about $4,000.