For the first time in history there are more Americans over 65 years of age than there are teenagers. San Diego County's senior population is growing at a rate nearly twice that of the general population. This tidal wave of seniors, with ever-increasing life expectancies, is fueling demand for more senior housing throughout San Diego County.

Last month's opening of La Vida Real, an upscale rental retirement community in Rancho San Diego, is helping to fill the senior housing gap in San Diego. It's also fast becoming a major economic engine for the entire East County, offering more than 100 new jobs and creating a demand for services ranging from linens to landscaping to locksmiths.

La Vida Real, a senior community in Rancho San Diego, is the largest project of its kind to open in San Diego County in 15 years.

The 350,000-square-foot, 325-unit La Vida Real community offers independent and assisted living arrangements, and is one of the largest of its kind to come on line in San Diego in the last decade.

"This property was set aside specifically and exclusively for senior housing by the 1978 Rancho San Diego master plan," says Michael Grust, president of Senior Resource Group, or SRG, developers of the $40 million community. "With 11 acres to work with, we've taken architectural design as well as programs and services to the next level. This place is going to surprise a lot of people who have a misconception about what it means to live in a retirement community in the 21st century."

Some of those surprises include: Club Real, a cocktail lounge that spills into a music room and library; a 12-hour restaurant with more than 30 menu items and five daily specials; and an Internet lounge with 12 computers and ongoing individual computer instruction.

Since opening in July, La Vida Real has leased 85 percent of its 210 independent living apartments, which range from 500-square-foot alcoves to 1,278-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath units. The assisted living suites, which will open in September, can accommodate up to 100 residents and are 60 percent pre-leased. La Vida Real also offers personalized Alzheimer's and dementia care within a secured residential environment.

"The idea is to provide a continuum of care as residents age and their needs change," says Grust of San Diego-based SRG, which operates 13 senior living communities serving more than 1,200 residents in California, Arizona and Oregon.

Campus community

Mirroring a national trend toward "campus-style" retirement communities, the sprawling, Spanish Colonial-themed La Vida Real "lives more like a five-star resort than a retirement facility," say its new residents, many of whom have recently left longtime family homes to take up residence in the lushly landscaped and lavishly appointed community.

"We've created a thriving environment that gives seniors a compelling reason to leave their homes and dispels any notions of institutional retirement," said Grust, whose childhood memories of his family struggle to provide his aging grandfather with quality care having driven many of his business decisions.

Strolling along the garden path leading to a spacious outdoor patio shaded by an oak tree, Grust points out architectural details at La Vida Real. Bougainvillea-topped trellises, arched windows and doorways, covered balconies, clay tile accents and courtyards with fountains make the community a pleasing place to live and a comfortable environment for friends and family to visit.

La Vida Real's seven residential wings connect to a hacienda-style central pavilion that boasts a bounty of "residential icons" such as fireplaces and comfortable furnishings that create intimate spaces you'd find in a home. The pavilion provides an array of services from a restaurant-style dining room and club lounge with fully stocked bar to a sundry shop and hair salon.

"Our larger campus communities such as this one offer innovations that allow seniors to maintain active, comfortable and dignified lives that enhance, rather than diminish their independence," Grust said. "We focus on lifestyles and amenities in tune with a new generation of seniors."

New generation of older adults

Catering to this new generation of maturing adults, La Vida Real provides its residents with a host of hospitality services, wellness care and recreational and educational programs.

Along with its heated swimming pool and fitness center, there's a library, music conservatory and a big-screen media room with theater-style seating. Anticipated to quickly become one of the most popular gathering areas is an Internet lounge that links La Vida Real to the World Wide Web.

"Our residents not only want to e-mail their children and friends, but these tech-savvy seniors are going to be checking their stocks and researching their next vacation destination," Grust said.

These get-up-and-go folks can take advantage of scheduled group transportation to nearby shopping and entertainment venues as well as a wide of onsite and offsite social, cultural and recreational programs.

Ongoing market research also told Grust that seniors want both indoor and outdoor common areas for relaxing and socializing, as well as private living accommodations that offer a fully equipped kitchen, washer and dryer, extra storage space, cable TV and weekly housekeeping and flat linen laundry.

"We listen relentlessly to our customers and continuously update programming and services that address their needs and concerns," Grust said.

Economic boost

In addition to supplying much needed housing for the senior population, La Vida Real is shaping up to be a boon to the local economy. According to Executive Director Dixie King, the community will have a staff of more than 100, with 90 percent of those in full-time jobs with comprehensive benefits.

"In this industry, it is very unusual to pay benefits and offer a 401(k) program, so these are very desirable jobs that tend to attract long-term employees," King said.

La Vida Real is like a small town, she said, requiring the services of local vendors and merchants from landscaping and pool service, to locksmiths, electricians and plumbers. And just think about the groceries that must be purchased in order to prepare about 800 meals a day.

Percival Lipscomb is president of Scribe Communications.