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The learning retiree's home

A developer plans a downtown community linked to USF St. Petersburg.

By HELEN HUNTLEY Personal Finance Editor
Published September 18, 2007

The Jacksonville developer that built Gainesville's Oak Hammock for graying Gators plans to create a retirement community in downtown St. Petersburg linked to USF St. Petersburg.

The Praxeis Group said it has several sites under review and hopes to select one by year's end. Executive vice president Matt Weaver said the downturn in the condo market has created "numerous opportunities."

The development is intended to appeal to aging baby boomers who want to keep their brains and bodies active and leave the home maintenance to someone else. In addition to opening its classrooms to residents of the community, USF will be involved in creating programming for them, such as lectures and cultural performances. At Oak Hammock, located a short distance from the southern end of the University of Florida campus, topics on the fall schedule include fiction writing, architecture, jazz, opera, Russian literature, educational politics and healthy aging.

In St. Petersburg, a not-for-profit corporation would own the development and finance its construction through tax-exempt bonds. Praxeis will advance the upfront capital, serve as financial adviser, developer and marketer.

Weaver said he expects the project to cost between $175-million and $225-million. It will have 250 to 300 residential units and 100 health care units, including assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing.

It will be set up as a continuing care community, with nursing care provided to residents who need it. Instead of owning their apartments, residents will pay entrance fees and monthly fees. Weaver said it is too early to discuss costs.

The financing, sales and development process will be lengthy. Weaver said once the land is acquired, it will take about three years before construction begins.

Karen White, regional chancellor for USF St. Petersburg, said she expects the residents of the community to add to the vibrancy of life on campus. "The individuals who choose this kind of community are not sitting in rocking chairs watching the sunset," she said. "There's a wonderful quality to the learning atmosphere when there are students of many ages in a classroom. They add the real world. They add life experience."

USF St. Petersburg currently has 67 students who are 55 or older auditing classes for free.

The St. Petersburg project will be Praxeis' fourth Florida "life fulfilling community," as it calls them and its first in an urban setting. Two have been completed, Gainesville's Oak Hammock, and Glenridge in Sarasota, which is not affiliated with a university. A Tallahassee project, Westcott Lakes, is planned in conjunction with Florida State University.

Other projects are in the planning stages with UCLA in California and the University of Kentucky.

Oak Hammock, which opened in 2004, was marketed to University of Florida alumni and drew two-thirds of its residents from outside Gainesville. Weaver said he expects the St. Petersburg project to have strong local appeal without relying on USF alumni.

Helen Huntley can be reached at hhuntley@sptimes.com or 727 893-8230.

[Last modified September 17, 2007, 22:49:49]