The Academy - Come experience... life at its best!

Retirement Center a Cut Above

Boulder facility houses high achievers, offers boutique-hotel amenities

by Leslie Petrovski, Special to The Denver Post

Boulder -- John M. Richardson, 82, had four criteria when selecting a retirement community: - He wanted to be near his children. - He hoped to find a place free of "institutional atmosphere" - It had to offer independent living in a detached unit with the possibility of assistance should that become necessary. - He desired "associates of some achievement"

The Academy, a community occupying the grounds of historic buildings of the former Mount Saint Gertrude's Academy Catholic girls' school, fit the bill.

With only 52 suites and a staff-to-resident ration of about 1-to-1, it exemplifies the kind of high-end alternatives now being developed for seniors.

The Academy is in one of Boulder's most elegant neighborhoods, a block from Chautauqua Park with breathtaking views of the Flatirons and lovely rose gardens that bracket tidy bungalows and stately buildings.

Life there is eased by the amenities that make it seem like a boutique hotel. Local art lines the walls. Service fees include weekly housekeeping, resident maintenance, parking, chauffeured transportation (in the stat's first imported London taxi), exercise classes, massages and meal plans. One recent menu included roast Colorado leg of lamb, a heart-healthy salmon en croute, catfish Chez Paul and sirloin steak bourguignon.

Said Gary Berg, one of eight people who own the buildings and developed the property, "The vision for all four couples was to create a place where our respective parents would enjoy living and children and grandchildren would enjoy visiting."

Ike Markowitz, 83, and Marilyn Markowitz, 79, said they were looking for a social environment when they decided to leave their home in Four Mile Canyon for a bungalow at The Academy.

"We were too isolated," Ike said, his arm casually draped over Marilyn's wheelchair. "we wanted to be in a social environment. We really feel like we've taken on a new family, and we've only been here since February."

With 33 apartments, nine bungalows and 10 assisted living apartments, the Academy is a small intimate property. Berg calls it the "microbrewery of retirement communities."

Ages range from the upper 60s to 90s, and people's health from extremely vigorous to quite infirm. Only about 40 percent of the residents come from the Boulder area, but perhaps because the property is near Boulder's University of Colorado campus, they share a remarkable level of accomplishment.

Richardson, for example, holds a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University and continues to teach online for the University of Maryland from his home at The Academy. Marilyn Markowitz is an active artist and a found of Boulder's MacLaren-Markowitz Gallery. Ike Markowitz is a retired Air Force officer, having served in three ways, and a retired professor of management from Metropolitan State College of Denver.

The community also counts retired lawyers, writers, corporate executives and two of the owners' mothers among its members.

The Academy, says marketing director Gina Basha, is "always 96 percent full," but life there comes at a price. Basic rates range from $3,700 to $5,600 a month. For additional fees, The Academy can provide clerical services, catering, room service, laundry service and home health care.

Denver architect Mike Kephart, who worked on the project and specializes in senior housing, liked having the chance to provide an option.

"For my parents," he said, "the only choice was nursing homes, and nobody was happy about that choice. Then 10 to 20 years ago, we started seeing assisted living, which was kind of a 'nursing home light' option, if you will."

Seniors who dreaded the regimentation of traditional nursing homes welcomed any opportunity to continue their everyday lives in a more secure setting. Today, they have an ever-expanding array of housing choices that range from age-restricted communities to continuing care communities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes and in-home health care.

The Academy, for example, is an "age-restricted, service-enriched" community. To live in the detached bungalows, people must be 55-plus; to qualify for an apartment, 62-plus. Home health care or hospice care can be arranged.

As the ranks of the elderly swell, pressure mounts to develop communities such as The Academy. About 35.9 million Americans were over age 65 in 2003, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, or about 12 percent of the population. By 2030 -- when all baby boomers have crossed over into senior citizen territory -- they'll account for about 20 percent. Colorado now has 416,000 seniors, or just under 10 percent of the population, but it's elderly population is among the nation's fastest growing.

Once people reach their later years, they begin looking for housing that is easy to use and that provides them with a sense of community, said Margaret Wylde, president and chief executive of ProMatura Group. She's the author of "Boomers on the Horizon: Housing Preferences of the 55+ Market."

"People feel disconnected, especially as the become empty nesters," she said. "Many do want a new community where the opportunity for casual social interaction is there."

Until 1969, Mount Saint Gertrude's always played host to a crowd. It was originally constructed in 1892 by Sister Mary Theodore O'Connor as a girls' school, with additional buildings going up in 1921. The school closed in 1969, and the building was purchased by CU to house administrative offices, and hold dance and continuing education classes.

A 1980 fire destroyed the top floor and bell tower of the academy buildings, and 1988, after seven unsuccessful attempts to sell the property, CU began casting about for a long-term lessee. It still owns the land, but ultimately selected The Academy Development Group's proposal for the retirement community.

Berg and his partners spent four years getting final city approval for the $20 million project and another three years fighting neighbors' lawsuits, which were appealed all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court.

In 1996, renovation finally began, requiring the removal of a large extended raccoon family -- 75 in all -- and mountains of debris. There was woodwork and stained glass to be salvaged, original molding to be restored and new buildings to erect. To complicate matters further, all renovation decisions had to be vetted by various city agencies, the CU design team and the U.S. Department of the Interior (The Academy is on the National Register of Historic Places).

The elevator in The Academy building presented a particular quandary. Because climbing stairs was considered a healthful option for growing girls, Mount Saint Gertrude's school was built without a lift. But because Academy residents might have mobility needs, develops needed to install one. To satisfy historical watchdogs, they installed an elevator that didn't appear as if it existed historically -- painted gray and wood-framed to contrast with its all-brick surroundings.

The Academy welcomed its first residents in 1998. Its developers are now exploring the possibility of creating a smaller, private home in Boulder for Alzheimer's and other memory-impaired seniors. Although The Academy can accommodate residents with Alzheimer's through home-health care and other services, the group is looking to address this niche with the same fresh eyes with which it tackled retirement housing.

Said co-owner Karen McMurry about her input to the developing group, "I wanted to create something that my mother would really love." Her mother now lives at The Academy.

She helped conceive the original community with her husband, Gary Berg, and other partners, conducting focus groups, visiting other communities and meeting with consultants. In the end, the group chose to develop its own operational style.

"We didn't follow any of the rules," McMurry said. "And we started with the premise that the food had to be really good."

Caption 1: New bungalows, left, on the quiet campus of The Academy fit the vintage nature of the neighborhood. At right, new apartments in the foreground, were designed to blend in with the older brick buildings. The retirement community, designed for people ages 55 and older, offers chauffeured transportation, exercise classes and massages. Rates range from $3,700 to $5,600 a month.

Caption 2: A fitness class at The Academy works out in what was a chapel at the former girls' school. The Academy was created by its owners as a place that would foster good health in an elegant setting.