In Southlake there are not many options for seniors to downsize. Ebby Halliday Southlake Realtor Dan Combe said most seniors are looking for small lots and smaller homes to retire in. However, he said the average Southlake home sells for more than $700,000 and is 4,206 square feet.

If seniors are looking for assisted living or housing specifically restricted to seniors, Southlake is also limited. The city has one age-restricted community, Watermere at Southlake, and one memory care community, Silverado Southlake Memory Care Community.

Southlake is also home to the Carlyle at Stonebridge Park, which offers skilled nursing.

Cooper and Stebbins President Frank Bliss, who helped develop Southlake Town Square, said because of the lack of senior housing options, seniors are leaving the city.

“[Seniors are feeling like they are] forced to make a choice about where they want to live because if they want to stay in the community they are basically stuck in their house, and if they want to downsize, or ‘right size’ as I call it, and live in a way that fits their lifestyle, they are being forced to move outside of our community. And in many cases they move away.”

Another senior living facility getting ready to open in Southlake is HaborChase of Southlake.

The facility, which will be located off of SH 114, is expected to open in May and will offer assisted living as well as memory care housing.

HarborChase Director of Sales Gwen Cantu said the owners of the senior facility recognized the need for more senior care in Southlake.

“Southlake is a really unique community,” she said. “I think we felt like there were not a lot of senior living choices in Southlake, and with a strong demographic of adult children we thought there could be a need for their parents and them wanting to move their parents closer to them.”

However, Southlake City Council denied a mixed-use senior housing development in August. The project, which would have been located at SH 114 and Blessed Way, would have included 255 independent and assisted-living units as well as a pair of three-story office buildings.  Several of the council members opposed the project because of its density.

Adding housing options

Bliss, who will be breaking ground on the city’s first condominiums in the first quarter of 2017, is in the process of building out brownstones in Town Square. Bliss said he recognized the need to provide a broader variety of housing options in Southlake, and hopes these new housing products will help seniors stay in Southlake.

“We researched and saw that the [age] 35-55 population has a stable to growing population, and over the age of 55 you have a population that is declining,” he said. “If you look around Southlake and the housing that is available, you can see why.

“This is what Southlake residents were telling [Cooper and Stebbins before we started building the brownstones]. They are saying, ‘My kids are grown and they’re gone, and I’m living in a 5,000-square-foot house with five bedrooms and I never go upstairs anymore. If I could just cut the top level off my house, that would be good.’”

Bliss said seniors are looking to downsize not because they cannot afford it, but because of the maintenance and upkeep it takes to keep up a larger lot.

He said seniors in Southlake want to downsize, but they also want to keep the amenities they are used to, which is where the brownstones and condos come into play.

“Downsizing is almost met with resistance because it’s often thought of as ‘I have to give something up,’ but it doesn’t need to be that way,” he said. “In the brownstones they will still have all of their luxurious appliances they are used to, but without the hassle of taking care of a lawn or having unused space.”

Bliss said he believes Southlake’s senior population would increase if the city added more housing options.

“People are saying, ‘We want to stay here, but we want choices,’” he said. “For some of them, Watermere is a great choice and is a great fit, but for others who are ready to downsize but not ready to move into a community that is age-restricted, it’s not. Because they feel as soon as they do that they are basically surrounded by a lot of people like them and they want diversity and to be able to be around people of all ages.”

Cantu said assisted living is ideal for seniors who want to feel a sense of community.

“I think living at home can be quite lonely, especially when they are no longer driving,” she said. “They can become isolated, and then they have to worry about things like cooking their meals, getting to the grocery store and taking care of the yard. However, [with assisted living] they are no longer going to have to worry about those things. With assisted living they have the feeling of community and the socialization and get to do things that are designed just for them. They no longer have to feel isolated or feel obligated to take care of a big house.”

Inflated housing values

Combe said the primary reason people are attracted to Southlake is because of its school district, Carroll ISD.

“People are willing to pay more for their homes just to be in this school district,” he said.

However, he said once homeowners’ children are out of the district they are more likely to move.

“Part of the reason the housing values are so inflated is because of the school district,” he said. “If you go outside the school district boundaries, the cost of the homes drops significantly. A person could find a home with the same amenities for thousands of dollars less than what it would cost for the same house in Southlake. So if they are truly looking to retire and downsize, they would probably leave.”

Combe said residents are paying more per square foot and on average getting an older house in the Carroll ISD school boundaries when compared to the homes in the boundaries of neighboring school districts of Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Keller ISD.