Editorial: The increasing need for suburban housing options for seniors

The village of Hanover Park is the latest in growing number of communities facing the same issue: a lack of housing for a growing senior population.

It's an issue that suburban officials know they have to tackle but not one that has risen to the top of everyone's priority list. That day has come.

For Hanover Park officials, they are getting help in determining housing options through a joint study by the village, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and Teska Associates. Initial findings for the study were clear: Hanover Park needs more senior housing options.

"Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Glendale Heights, Carol Stream and Roselle have a variety of senior housing options at varying price points, but Hanover Park has none," said Teska Senior Associate Todd Vanadilok.

The report's findings were no surprise to Village President Rodney Craig, who agreed there's a "great need" for housing options for older people.

As the suburban population continues to age, this need is being debated in most communities. And affordable housing is key, as more and more seniors would like to stay in the towns where they raised their children.

"That's always been on of my concerns, especially with seniors. Where are they going to go when they want to downsize?" asked Naperville City Council member Paul Hinterlong during last spring's city election campaign. "Because all the ranches just turned to McMansions, so that housing stock is gone."

In Gurnee, one longtime trustee touted the village's encouragement of senior housing complexes as a way to better the community. In Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, two new senior housing developments are in the works, both offering assisted-living units and care for patients with memory disorders. A similar facility is being built in Grayslake.

The key is having those options.

"In an ideal world, you would downsize at 60 to a smaller, more manageable home where you can age in place comfortably for the foreseeable future," said Jennifer Prell, founder of a senior-move management and relocation company and president of a free senior housing and care resource network called Elderwerks, both located in Cary. She was quoted in an article on senior homebuyers submitted to the Daily Herald by Mainstreet Association of Realtors.

"As needed, you can bring in services such as housekeeping, cooking and yard work when you can no longer handle them on your own," she continued. "Then, when the time is right, you can make your next - and likely final - move to assisted living."

The key is for suburban officials to have those options available when and where their senior population needs them.