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The right space

Housing trendsetters say Latinos need to know new designs

Phoenix home-builder Sherry Vallejos' path to accessible-home design began when she blew out her knee during a college basketball game.

While riding a basketball scholarship at University of Southern Colorado, the then 21-year-old forward went up in the air determined to haul in an offensive rebound.

"I knew going down that my life would never be the same," Vallejos, now 35, recalls.

She felt a hot flash of agony when she landed. Her right knee was laterally extended, the tendons and ligaments stretched and torn. She spent six years in physical therapy.

It was a bad break for Vallejos, but a lucky break for Latino home-buyers who can benefit
from her housing development, designs and advocacy for the aging Hispanic "baby boomers," as well as people who are disabled or have limited mobility.

Vallejos, the president of Phoenix-based Portland Homes, LLC., and Albert Ayala, a Valley general contractor who designs and builds homes, are in the avant-garde of a national trend called "universal" design. The two Latino housing designers have nicknamed this type of housing blueprint, "Años de Oro," (Golden Years) home-building. This plan accommodates older and disabled people who need residential elevators, ramps, wider doors and hallways, and special toilets and bathing facilities.

Vallejos and Ayala, who also wrote a book on accessible housing, say both older and younger Latinos need to know about universal housing design before they buy a house.

And more Hispanics are buying houses than ever before. Fueled by a combination of population growth and increased incomes, by 2008 U.S. Hispanic purchasing power will jump to more than $1 trillion. With this new purchasing power, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals projects that from 2002 to 2012, 40 percent of first-time home-buyers will be Hispanic. 

Yet the majority of houses now on the market are sold with few accessibility amenities. Home builders cite added costs as the reason most homes are built without accessibility in mind. Russ Brock, vice president of municipal affairs for the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona, says that home-builders will offer more accessible designed homes when consumers start demanding them. He says developers are sensitive to the growing needs of aging boomers, and will respond to their needs.

"I think it's got to be a collaborative effort between the buyer that is looking for accessible features and the builder," Brock says.

Ayala agrees. "When enough people ask for those features, they will become as standard as hot and cold running water," he says. 

ELEVATING DESIGN

Portland Homes partnered with Universal Living Constructors, iPower, Abbey Home Elevator and Custom Creations to provide a national model of accessible and energy-efficient town-home living, Vallejos says.   

Portland has trademarked its "Lifespan Livability" designs. The two-story homes include a residential elevator and full accessibility to accommodate a familyÕs needs.   Portland's trademarked Elevated Homes are town homes ranging in size from 1,450 to 1,590 square feet and were priced at $195,000 and $215,000, which made them not only accessible, but affordable, too.  

Features of some of Portland's houses include a residential elevator, curbless shower, wider
hallways and doorways, higher outlets and lower light switches. This design also includes Americans with Disabilities Act approved toilets, backing for grab bars, three no-step entries, large bathrooms with a five-foot clearance, lever cabinet hardware and a 20' X 10' roll-out deck for scenic views. 

"Better design means better living for everyone," Vallejos says, adding that if more women were designing and building homes, perhaps more thought would be given to children and the elderly.

"It doesn't matter what our abilities may be," she says. "No more removing doors to move in furniture. No more compromises with baby strollers or wheelchairs. Elimination of home safety risks can serve as insurance and assurance that our elderly parents may be able to live independently longer. Better design means full mobility and independence of function with any lifespan needs, whether it may be a pregnancy, a broken ankle, a new toddler or an aging parent."  

Some home builders see the baby boomer numbers -- some 75 million Americans roost in this age bracket -- and have begun catering to them. Boomers are in the age range of 41-59. The U.S. Hispanic population age 65 and over is projected to increase by 60 percent during the next 25 years, according to U.S. Census figures.

LOOKING AHEAD

Both Vallejos and Ayala say even younger Latino home-buyers need to consider their "Años de Oro" when buying a home today. Many young and middle-age Latino home-buyers are sandwiched between raising their children and caring for their elderly parents. Yet their own
Golden Years Ð from 70 to 90 years old, based on todayÕs average lifespan -- will inevitably arrive.

Vallejos also had in mind Latinos raising families and caring for elderly relatives when
she helped design her Palomino Casitas housing development in north Phoenix.

"The real question is: 'Should we let poor and inadequate design determine whether we have a choice regarding the care of our loved ones?' " she says.

Ayala, 51, has written a book titled The Right Space, a guide for wheelchair accessibility for single-family homes. His business has the same name, and focuses on promoting the book and consulting with home designers and developers. He began writing his book after his 89-year-old mother fractured her leg and moved in with him and his wife. The necessity of caring for his parent and the realization that soon he, too, would be a "senior citizen" prompted him to explore accessible design.

The goal of his work is to educate Latino consumers on the biggest consumer item they will buy in their lifetimes: A house. With the average price of a home in the hot Phoenix market running in the $263,000 range, the long-term livability and use of this major investment becomes of utmost importance. That price is $40,000 more than the national median home price.

Ayala writes in his introduction to the book, "This guide's goal is to create an aware consumer, one able to ask building or real estate professionals the right questions to ensure that every path, every space, and every fixture in his or her home has received special
consideration."

  
PAY NOW OR PAY LATER

Ayala says home-buyers have to search diligently to find local housing developments that offer accessible amenities in their basic models, but the effort now will pay off. It will cost far more to remodel a home with accessibility features in the future, he adds. 

Ayala says Latinos don't seek homes that accommodate physical limitations because we don't like to think that one day we'll be so old we'll need help just getting around.

"It's because we don't imagine ourselves being in a wheelchair," he says. "Nor does it occur to us that a person in wheelchair might want to visit us and use our bathroom.  Something as basic as getting in and out of a home and using the bathroom is not a sexy subject when we are walking," he says. "But if everyone in this country spent the month of December in a wheelchair, my guess is access would become a very sexy subject in January."