|
| Ground
Broken for Gay Retiree Development The developer from San Francisco plans 24 single-family homes and 64 apartments in Palms of Manasota. Almost three years after buying land near Palmetto, a Sarasota real estate agent is building the first model home of a development targeting gay and lesbian retirees. Ground was broken last week for Palms of Manasota, a 22 acre retirement community between U.S. 19 and U.S. 41, north of 49th Street East. Bill Laing, the real estate agent, said the retirement community is for gays, lesbians, their relatives and anyone else who would choose a largely gay environment. Legally, such communities must be open to all. Laing could not be reached for comment Monday. But he told a San Francisco newspaper that he hopes the development, which he is financing himself, will be a model for the nation. Laing, a gay man in his 60s, envisions several levels of housing: 24 single-family homes and 44 apartments where retirees would live independently, 20 assisted-living apartments for people needing daily care, and a small nursing home. Common space would include a dining hall, a chapel, a cinema, an arts and crafts room and a hair salon. "I want a place to retire with my own people, " Laing told the San Francisco Examiner for an article published Monday. "You have Methodist who have their homes, Presbyterian retirement homes - each group has their own because they have similar interests, philosophies. "We don't need prejudice in our later years," Laing says. We want to be ourselves, and we still can't ... I would not like to see something like this in 150 years. But right now, there's a need for this." Laing broke ground last week on the first model home, which he is financing himself. He is sinking $450,000 into the project and counting on prospective retirees to finance the rest. Laing is pitching his project at baby boomers entering their 50s. Younger people would keep the community vibrant, he says. People will pay from $64,900 for assisted-living space to $114,000 for a three-bedroom home, and a monthly fee of several hundred dollars. People would be buying not the homes but the privilege of living there. When they die, new people would buy in, Laing says the community would be nonprofit, and he intends to bequeath it to the gay Metropolitan Community Church. Though only four people - in their late 40s and early 50s - have put deposits down, Laing contends that interest is high. An ad in the gay press drew 700 responses, he says. Neighbors and local planners have proved friendly, Laing says. Manatee County planner Norm Luppino, who handled the application, said the Manatee County commissioners stamped their approval on the development last fall. Palms of Manasota is between busy highways and near a mobile home park. "It just kind of fit right in, in terms of land use," Luppino said Monday. Internet Note: Details in this article about ownership at the Palms of Manasota reflect their status at the date of this article's publication, and differ from the current facts.Please refer the rest of this website, particularly the Homes, Villas and Visitors Center sections for facts about life at the Palms of Manasota today. |