"We have finally found the key to rapidly expanding Abbeyfield," said Dick Stanton, Chair of Abbeyfield Ontario and resident of Abbeyfield Durham.

Stanton explained that the Abbeyfield Society of Durham has refined its Life Occupancy Leasing model, which was showcased at an Abbeyfield International meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, and subsequently adopted by fourteen countries.

Abbeyfield Houses, which originated in England where there are 800, are intimate nonprofit facilities that often look like single-family homes. Abbeyfield's operate on flexible guidelines, not rigid rules. These Houses offer "a home within a home" to from 5 to 12 individuals over age 60 who no longer choose to live alone, but wish to remain independent. In Canada, there are 39 Societies, 29 Houses and about 10 in development, but the need is much greater. (The first US Abbeyfield is underway in south Chicago and another is planned for Massachusetts.)

In many communities, particularly smaller municipalities and rural areas, individuals who don't want to remain in their family home or on the farm, but want to stay in the community, may have little choice.

Some are forced to move into large facilities outside the area. Since living to age 100 is no longer news, individuals may spend decades in institutional environments. The exporting of long-term residents deprives these individuals of the continued pleasure of living in the community they helped build and also robs municipal governments and local businesses of significant daily-living revenues.

High real estate costs make development of these small facilities, a challenge.

"In the old Abbeyfield, they went out to raise money and kept beating their heads against a wall," said Stanton, who, with a partner, has established Creative Alternatives Seniors Housing to promote Abbeyfield Houses. "Fundraising is an art, not everyone can do it. With our system, you just find people who want to buy units and you can get up and running in a year."

Stanton put his professional real estate and development knowledge to work for Abbeyfield. He was instrumental in creating the environmentally-friendly building design, arranging the financing and seeing that construction was completed for its January 2003 opening. He and the other directors worked for two years to perfect their financing approach.

"We did not have any money so we—three couples—sold our homes and provided the bridge financing," said Stanton explaining how his group circumvented the intense fundraising required to get most Abbeyfield homes (and other nonprofit housing, for that matter) off the ground. "The contractor said this will cost C$850,000 for a turn-key operation, which did not include furniture or appliances. We had the land as we raised money by fund-raising. The Credit Union gave C$500,000 as a first mortgage. We needed to raise the difference, so we put our money on the line to build the facility."

Stanton's determination has resulted in a development model that he feels makes Abbeyfield Homes practical in many markets. Half the building is life lease and half is rental to preserve the Abbeyfield mandate of providing housing for those that may not have the means to buy. The model will also be adapted for existing Abbeyfields where one or more rooms will be released through Life Occupancy Leasing to lower expenses and increase affordability.

Durham Abbeyfield Suites

Whether residents rent or "buy in," everyone in the Abbeyfield is treated the same since they make the same monthly C$1220 contribution in return for the right to occupy a bedsitting room, share the common areas and use the services of the live-in House Coordinator. Those that "buy in" do not purchase ownership, but gain the right to occupy through a life occupancy lease and to invest their C$68,000 payment at 7% interest, paid annually or in monthly payments, as long as they live there. The initial investment, less 10% which is held back to cover the costs of refurbishing the unit and paying legal fees, is returned to the individual or passed on to the estate when the suite is vacated.

The non-profit Abbeyfield Society of Durham uses the residents' monthly payments to maintain its 24-hour facility. Major expenditures are covered through fund-raising. For instance, C$20,000 was raised for the stand-by generator which automatically kicks in during power failures like the day-and-a-half black-out that hit in the first year.

The 12 residents share 6500 square feet of environmentally-friendly living accommodation that was specifically designed to be economical to operate. The house was built to R2000 standards or better with soundproofing between suites, and every manner of alarm and detector system. The monthly natural gas cost is only C$350 to C$400 even with 16 bathrooms, a commercial dishwasher, a Jacuzzi room and all the other domestic hot water use. The rooms are independently heated with hot water so that each resident may control their own environment. Common areas are heated with hot air, but not a hot-air furnace. The building is so well insulated that the heat created by lighting is sufficient to warm the air.

Stanton is busy promoting Abbeyfields in the Grey Bruce Area. Thorold on the Niagara Peninsula has recently joined the Abbeyfield ranks. Churches and Rotary Clubs are excellent champions since they have access to land and solid connections in their communities.

"We figure we can add 6, 7, 8 years [to residents' lives] as there are no worries—you get up when you want and go to bed when you want," said Stanton. "Some of our residents say it is the best hotel in town—no cap on what we spend on food. We have meals country-style—put the bowls on the table and help yourselves. We have really happy campers here."

To learn more about:

• This nonprofit Abbeyfield development approach, contact Dick Stanton at 519 369 1112 or by email.
• The national Abbeyfield movement, visit www.abbeyfield.ca.
• How you can transform your large property into an Abbeyfield, read PJ's earlier Realty Times column, "Abbeyfield: Another Have-Your-Home-and-Money-Too Example".