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Senior complexes rising
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January 28, 2000: 3:01 a.m. ET
As elderly population soars, more housing communities are springing up
By Staff Writer Mara Wilcox
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - - As the number of senior citizens skyrockets to record levels, more and more retirement communities are springing up around the country.
Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) provide a range of services from household help to around-the-clock nursing.
"They no longer have to ask themselves the question...'Who will take care of me?' " said Rose Ciahurri, administrator at Navesink House, a retirement community in New Jersey. "The answer is right here under one roof."
A resident at a continuing care retirement community.
Americans over sixty-five are the fastest growing sector of the population. By 2030, there will be about 70 million older Americans, more than double today's number.
Costs remain high
And the number of CCRCs has doubled since 1986, according to industry experts. But there is such growing demand that the costs are still high, they said.
"CCRCs are growing, but they just aren't growing quite as quickly," said Elizabeth Clemmer of the American Association of Retired Persons. "It takes a bigger upfront cost, typically you move into a CCRC while you are still healthy or relatively healthy."
CCRCs are geared towards middle- to upper- income seniors who plan ahead.
Costs vary greatly. Some plans require a large fee upfront but charge much less per month. Others charge monthly fees, with the amount increasing as residents require more care. In many cases residents buy their own unit.
A place with recreation and assistance
At Navesink House, residents can participate in a range of activities, from gardening to surfing on the Web.
"We have self-care, residential healthcare, which provides some personal assistance, and finally nursing care for round the clock nursing needs," Ciaburri said.
Two residents at Navesink, Mary Hartmann and Harry Knabe, met a year ago when they moved in.
"This is the last act and I am very content knowing that when I leave here it will be permanent," Hartmann said.
Like Hartmann, moving into a CCRC was the right choice.
"I never expected in a million years that I would come up here and fall in love," Hartmann said. 
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