Housing Boomers - 4/30/2006                                Read entire article from the Daily Journal Daily Journal BY EMILY LE COZ TUPELO - Baby Boomers who since 1946 have dominated America's politics, culture and economy are now influencing the next wave in home design... ...Fast-growing trend So popular has this housing segment become that at least one residential development company here dedicated an entire subdivision community to the 55-plus market. Tupelo's Premier Builders set aside 44 lots inside The Villages as a "private, adult community" called Camellia Place. Three other completed communities and a fourth under development in the subdivision are open to any age. To live in Camellia Place, at least one family member must be 55 years old. Home buyers can chose between seven floor plans featuring one-story designs and a list of amenities to make aging easier or to postpone it longer. Amenities include wider doors with handles, higher countertops so residents don't have to bend while chopping veggies or washing hands, walk-in showers with lower thresholds to accommodate wheelchairs, and low-maintenance exterior siding and landscaping. "All of it is designed with this age group in mind," said Nat Grubbs, project manager for Premier Builders. "We're even seeing people in their mid 40s wanting to buy a home here." Not only must younger Boomers wait to move into Camellia Place, so does everyone else. The gated community has completely sold out - the first of the subdivision's communities to do so. Now The Villages is considering making its sixth and final development of approximately 60 lots another adults-only community called Lexington Square. "The 55-plus market is the fastest growing segment of the population," Grubbs said. "They've been telling us that at trade shows for years, and they've been right on the money."... Read entire article from the Daily Journal