About a year and a half ago I posted a blog about
housing trends for Seniors which included accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) like
the FabCab and MEDCottage (aka Granny Pods). These self-contained
units range in size from 300 to 1800 square feet, include features that support
aging in place, and incorporate universal design along with electronic
monitoring and medical care equipment options. All are pretty much built
in a factory, prepared for on-site assembly, trucked to your location and set
on a foundation. The advantages are
obvious - these pre-built units take up no more space than an apartment, are
easily assembled and disassembled, and allow for independence and privacy with family caregivers close at hand. Earlier this month, the New York Times published an article, “In-the-Backyard,
Grandma’s New Apartment” by SusanSeliger about the same topic with some
interesting updates.
The
article is about a doctor in Virginia whose parents could no longer live
independently and decided to move in with her rather than an assisted living facility. The
layout of her home however, proved to be physically unsuitable for her aging
parents and so the family ordered a
MEDCottage to be installed in the backyard. This month they will become the
first U.S. customers to install this 288 sq ft pre-built, free standing unit equipped with
assorted high tech devices (a hallway mat that lights up automatically as you
walk on it), durable medical equipment (an integrated ceiling lift), and medical
monitoring devices (technology that tracks blood pressure, glucose and heart
rate and automatically shares this information with both the caregiver and the client’s
physicians). There
are other prefab units on the market similar to the MEDCottage. Practical Assisted Living Structures (P.A.L.S.) are 280 sq ft, portable units that can be customized to an
individual client’s needs. Some features include closet rods that can be lowered to wheelchair level, a night light system on
automatic sensors, and bathrooms equipped with no-step showers and grab bars.
As
for pricing, the MEDCottage costs $85,000/year new but the distributors will
buy it back for $38,000 after 2 years of use.
A P.A.L.S. starts at approximately $67,000 or can be leased at $1,700
per month. Interested? You’ll first need to check your local zoning laws. At present only about half the states allow these units for family members, although there are additional states
currently considering legislation that would permit backyard ADU’s.  Susan LuxenbergPresident HomeSmart LLC |
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