Senior housing plentiful in New Scotland
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
A new home: Recently, Stonington Court Condominiums in Voorheesville added another building offering housing for residents 62 and older. The condos offer one-floor living, and start at $174,000.
The Enterprise — Lisa Nicole Lindsay
Before and after: On the left, a home in Stone Creek Estates is in the process of being built, while a finished two-unit building next door sits completed. The homes start at $299,999, and come with five years of yard maintenance and snow removal. Stone Creek Estates is a community for residents 55 and older, and has no homeowners association.
NEW SCOTLAND — Over the past six years, the New Scotland area has become home to two new age-restricted housing complexes. In Voorheesville, condo-style housing stands on Stonington Hill Road in the village, and, on the edge of New Scotland off a country highway, duplex one-floor homes sit off Route 85.
County Executive Daniel McCoy said there has been a slight increase in age-restricted housing recently, which he attributes somewhat to the economy stabilizing.
More immediately, however, McCoy notes there are over 60,000 seniors over the age of 65 in Albany County, and many are looking to downsize.
“There’s a need,” for senior housing communities, he said. “People don’t want to be in their big houses anymore.”
Troy Miller, owner and broker of CM Fox Real Estate, owns the complexes on Stonington Hill Road, called Stonington Court Condominiums.
His first set of 10 units was built in 2008, and the second set was finished about four months ago.
“The new building has seven out of 10 units sold,” he said.
The buildings are two floors and have an elevator, with living space for each unit all on one floor, including wood floors and handicapped-accessible showers.
Miller’s housing is for residents 62 and older, and is in close proximity to many local establishments on Route 85A.
He describes his location as “very much catered to the walking community that is Voorheesville.”
The units are priced from $174,000 to $244,000.
Off Route 85, and just down the street from Emma Cleary’s eatery, Stone Creek Estates offers more senior housing, with prices starting at $299,999.
Charlie Carrow, a founder of Carrow Real Estate Services — the mother company of Stone Creek Estates — proudly describes his company’s senior housing, noting it is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
There are two housing units in each building, which feature wide hallways, wood floors, granite countertops, and in-ceiling speakers in the living room and bedroom that connect to a sound system.
Carrow, who lives in Voorheesville, said that senior housing is “something drastically needed” in the area.
His units are built to fit each person or couple’s needs, and, because none of the walls are load-bearing, they can be arranged during construction to change the sizes of rooms.
Each unit comes with five free years of yard maintenance and snow removal, and Carrow said 15 units have sold so far.
