Gay Seniors Settle Into A Niche
John Ritter:
Jack Norris and Seymour Sirota feared ending up like a lot of older gay men they know – no children, partners dead or gone, families estranged, little to do but sit in their NY City apartments hoping the phone rings.
The couple tried retiring in Tampa but never felt comfortable there. They considered Sun City Center, Fla., until they heard about gay men who had moved in and promptly fled back into the closet. ‘We didn’t want to go that route, not at this point in our life,’ Norris says.
RainbowVision, the nation’s 1st retirement village aimed at gay men and lesbians, seemed a perfect fit. A visit to arts-happy Santa Fe, a high-desert cultural oasis with a gay-friendly reputation, sealed the deal. They put their Tampa place and Upper West Side co-op on the market. Moving to a new $361,000, 3-bedroom condo put Norris, 67, and Sirota, 79, on the leading edge of an emerging niche in the USA’s booming retirement market. Communities tailored to gay seniors have been a dream, gay advocates say, ever since the gay-rights movement was born after the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York’s Greenwich Village, a clash of police and drag queens after a raid on a gay bar.
But only recently have projects gotten off the ground: all-inclusive places like RainbowVision; conventional subdivisions that market homes or lots to gays; non-profit urban ventures that include affordable housing; and hybrids of all 3. A few have acquired land and are moving forward, says the American Society on Aging, including subdivisions in Pecos, N.M., and Zionville, N.C., urban condos and apartments in Boston and Los Angeles, and a lodge with cottages, town houses and nursing units in Santa Rosa, Calif. Palms of Manasotas in Palmetto, Fla., the 1st to pitch retirement housing to gays in 1997, is in Phase 2 of constructing condos and single-family houses.
RainbowVision, 146 condos and rental units on 13 acres, opened with a party June 10. 20 or so singles and couples already had moved in as ‘El Centro,’ the village’s amenity-laden social center, got finishing touches. Residents can eat in El Centro’s cafeteria, work out in the Billie Jean King Fitness Center & Spa, book a massage, take a yoga or Pilates class, soak in a hot tub, sign up for physical therapy and acupuncture, or treat themselves to facials. There are art studios, meeting rooms, a lounge and cabaret. Assisted-living apartments on the top floor are an option when residents grow frail but don’t want to leave.
RainbowVision is sold out with a waiting list. It has attracted middle- and upper-middle-class gays from across the country. Its gay-owned development company is building a second, larger project in Palm Springs, Calif. ‘People say, ‘Why did you create a gay and lesbian community?’ ‘ says Joy Silver, RainbowVision’s founder and president. ‘But nobody ever says, ‘Why did you create a golf community?’ So my question is, why wouldn’t you have a gay and lesbian community?’
Gay senior communities don’t exclude straights. Dina Rubinstein, a 90-year-old great-grandmother, picked RainbowVision after a long search. ‘I can’t stand the regular retirement places. They’re just for old people,’ she says. Read about the limited options for gay seniors.
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