Senior housing heating up in the North.

In the past, retirement consisted of shuffle-board, golf and lazy days spent on the pool deck in Florida. As we enter into the second half of 1998, it has become evident that today's seniors want more action, and are searching for an alternative to sun-kissed southern shores. These energetic, vital retirees wish to be closer to family and friends, as well as museums, shopping and plays. The answer? Urban assisted living facilities.

But until recently, cities were considered the last frontiers for the development of senior housing. Many obstacles - from state regulations to lack of available property - prevented developers from building in urban areas. This perpetuated the mass migration of retirees to the Sun Belt.

However, increased demand has made the urban market too appealing to ignore. We, along with Kapson Senior Quarters, surmounted the hurdles of city development to construct a luxury assisted living facility (ALF) in the Riverdale section of The Bronx.

A major obstacle in the development of urban ALFs is the lack of available land. Suburban ALFs have outside common areas like patios and courtyards, which are often featured prominently in their marketing plan. We were challenged to find an acceptable substitute.

In the city, rooftops replace courtyards. Riverdale will feature a 2,800 square-foot garden on the roof of the second floor, where zoning-dictated setbacks occur. In addition, Riverdale's residents can take a 14-story elevator fide to a 12,000 square-foot rooftop garden. We included "suburban" assets such as outside seating and flowering plants, but with an additional highlight: exciting views of Manhattan and the Hudson River.

As is always the case with urban development, when there isn't enough land, parking becomes an issue. Detached parking garages are out of the question, and because most urban zoning places limits on building height, constructing an attached parking garage at or above grade would take substantial space away from the property's residential building.

We dug deep to alleviate this problem, by excavating the rock from under the complex. This created a below-grade parking garage with 140 spaces, while maximizing the living space for the 205-unit building.

Developers often avoid building urban ALFs because of regulations that prevent them from providing nursing services. Therefore, seniors who need help with day-to-day activities had no choice but to turn to total-care, state-licensed nursing homes.

To traverse this regulatory maze, we separated residential housing from health care. Because Riverdale is zoned residential under the apartment/hotel classification, it does not have to obtain the special permits and licenses needed for domiciliary healthcare facilities.

The assisted living market will mature through 1998 and into the next millennium, as seniors continue to choose the "Great White Way' over white sandy beaches. The key to developing urban assisted living facilities, as seen in Riverdale, is flexibility. From highlighting the unique assets of city living in the amenity package, to zoning the property residential, developers can surmount the hurdles to urban development. As the saying goes, if you can make it in New York City, you can make it anywhere.

(Jeffrey E. Levine was named the 1997 Freddie Mac Builder of the Year in recognition of his construction and management of affordable, high-quality multi-family housing. He was also named Ernest & Young's Construction and Real Estate Regional Entrepreneur of 1997, and 1997 Developer of the Year by the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York, Inc. Since 1979, Levine Builders has designed and completed thousands of new and rehabilitated residential units and more than one-million square feet of commercial properties.)