In the coming years, the population of Williamson County is projected to quickly increase, reaching half a million by 2046. Moreover, local officials expect the senior population (65 and older) to grow from around 20,000 today to more than 40,000 by 2023, chamber figures show. The 53.1% increase would make it the fastest growing demographic in the county.
Locally and statewide, as baby-boomers enter retirement, the need for senior housing will also increase. As of the 2010 census, there were 99,917 individuals aged 65 and older in Tennessee. That number is expected to triple to more than 330,000 by 2040.
From assisted living facilities to retirement communities, the market is responding. Ironically, it seems the most development is occurring in Spring Hill- the area in Williamson County with the lowest median age. The median age county wide is 38.7 years, in Spring Hill it is 31.8. are three projects in Spring Hill that could provide housing for both retirement and assisted living.
Here are three senior housing projects in Spring Hill on the brink of opening.
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1.Southern Springs
Status: Opening April 20
Del Webb development proposals were rejected by Franklin and, years before, by Thompson’s Station.
But after success with Mt. Juliet’s Lake Providence development in Wilson County, Del Webb found land and a receptive community in Spring Hill. The project is called Southern Springs and it opens officially on April 20.
Del Webb, owned by Pulte homes, builds communities for adults 55 and over, and will own and run Southern Springs.
Construction on the 201-home initial phase of the Southern Springs Del Webb development began in 2016 after local investors in the project closed on a $10.1 million exchange with two Spring Hill property owners in November 2015.
David Buschmann, the principal of Insight Properties and a local developer who has been highly involved with the project, said that a section of the 309-acre portion of the property had been sold off to Pulte Group, Del Webb’s parent company, and is nearing completion of construction. Local investors are still in possession of the roughly 200-acre rear section of the property.
The development, which is located near the Kedron Road-Saturn Parkway interchange, will eventually feature a total of 600 homes.
Interested buyers have been able to buy in beginning last year. Two more phases of construction remain after this first phase opens later in the month
Spring Hill’s planning commission approved the preliminary plat for the first phases of the Southern Springs development, which includes 201 of the proposed 602 homes indicated in the master plan. Del Webb’s website indicates home sizes of 1,234 to 2,565 square feet.
Active-adult communities have been an increasing trend in development since baby boomers began reaching retirement age, according to Buschmann.
“Here in Spring Hill we have very large community of young families with small children,” he said. “And with the baby boomers and the aging population – all of those families have parents and grandparents who are downsizing, retiring and want to locate near their families and grandchildren.”
For those reasons, he added, the site in Spring Hill is a perfect location for people looking for a more vibrant living atmosphere in retirement.
“There continues to be strong interest and demand for a Del Webb community in the greater Nashville area,” says Jon Cherry, the Company’s division president in Tennessee, in a news release. “We are excited to once again offer the Del Webb lifestyle in Tennessee, as a follow-up to our successful Lake Providence by Del Webb community in Mt. Juliet.”
“Of the 76 million baby boomers in this country, 50 percent are between the ages of 50 and 58, which makes the over-50 buyer one of the fastest-growing consumer groups. With the recent completion of our Lake Providence community, there is no active adult community to meet the housing and lifestyle needs of the active baby boomer in Tennessee.”
Del Webb, a national builder of age-restricted, 55-and-older communities, had been looking for an area to develop in Williamson County for some time now.
Buschmann said that in 2013, then-Division President Bruce Sloan of Pulte Group, Del Webb’s parent company, came to him after Franklin’s Board of Mayor and Alderman shut the door on a proposed Del Webb development and asked for help finding a new site.
“At that same time the mayor, Rick Graham, had heard about it and called them to let them know we wanted them to come to Spring Hill,” Buschmann said. “And when I spoke to John (Hill), he said he had the place, so we drew up the plans at that time and put the whole thing together.”
John Hill of Maury County Realty suggested the location near the Kedron Road-Saturn Parkway interchange and helped facilitate talks with the property owners, the Adams and Ingram families.
Buschmann said that his company has worked to secure the Southern Springs neighborhood in Spring Hill by aiding Pulte throughout the local planning process with entitlements, rezoning, site acquisition and contractor hiring.
Because the Del Webb development will bring people with disposable income who don’t make an impact on schools and tend to drive much less than young families with children, it is a “win-win” situation, Buschmann said.
The major concerns with the development throughout the planning and rezoning process for the Southern Springs neighborhood was its possible effect on traffic in the area and its proximity to city historic areas.
The Home Page reported that when the BOMA approved the rezoning in December 2014, several conditions were imposed along with approval, including buffering along the property’s western edge to protect the view shed of Rippavilla Plantation and along the eastern edge to screen Oaklawn Plantation.
Buschmann said that they had always intended to provide landscape buffers to screen historic locations, but city officials just wanted them to be wider.
City officials have also required various roadway improvements in anticipation of possible increases in traffic as a result of development.
