In recent years, there has been a veritable explosion of age-restricted upscale communities for active retirees throughout Connecticut. Recognizing the demand from the general public and the advantages that this type of housing offers, developers and municipal planners, working together, have facilitated a substantial increase in the construction of residential units for this market niche.

Realizing that many of today's "baby boomers" either do not want all-out retirement or prefer to stay close to friends and families, marketers of these new communities in the small towns and villages of rural and coastal Connecticut are finding that buyers are being drawn from metropolitan New York, as well as from in-state empty-nesters seeking smaller, semi-luxury homes and maintenance-free living.

In fact, a New York Times article concluded that, in 2005, Connecticut was one of three "hot spots" for age-restricted communities in New England, with more than 2,000 housing units under development in approximately 150 age-restricted neighborhoods across the state. In the shoreline town of East Lyme, the success of two upscale communities for adults 55 and older has inspired several new communities and prompted city officials to promote the trend as a growth industry and source of new property tax revenues.

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