PD114R-CS010103Senior-housing market heats up in Metroplex - 2000-04-03 - Dallas Business Journal Page 1 o~/
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In Depth: Residential Real Estate
From the March 31, 2000 print edition
Senior-housing market heats up in Metroplex
Stephanie Patrick Staff Writer
GREATER METROPLEX --When Carl King moved his elderly father from Atlanta to the Metroplex in
October 1998, it was because the senior citizen had heart problems and could no longer live unsupervised.
After briefly moving into Carl's home, C.C. King has noxv settled into Preston Place, a 240-unit independent
living center in Piano.
"My dad and I were together every step of the way when we were looking at sites and we both wanted him to
maintain some degree of independence," King said. "I wanted something 20 minutes from our house and from
where I work."
The Kings have become trendsetters inadvertently, as seniors head to Texas in record numbers. Population data
shows more than 3.8 million residents 55 years old or older lived in Texas in 1999, and that figure is expected
to reach more than 4.5 million by 2004.
Texas ranks third behind perennial favorites Florida and California, with 11.3% of all seniors choosing the state
in 1998, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers and American Seniors Housing Association study.
Florida accounted for 16.3% and California recorded 11.7%.
Arizona, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Indiana also ranked among the top.
"The combination of the increase in the density of the population in general and Texas' attractive climate are
factors in why seniors are choosing Texas," said Ron Tinsley, a Dallas-based member of the ASHA's State of
Senior Housing Task Force. "The elderly population today is more active than 25 to 30 years ago and not
needing traditional nursing-home care. Their incomes tend to be higher and so is their standard of living.
"Many seniors are choosing Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area because it's a growth area and their children
are already here. It's a popular choice because it tends to be less expensive than California."
In the past, an elderly parent might come to live in a converted bedroom in a child's home or go straight into a
nursing home. Families today have many options, including assisted-living and independent-living
communities.
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