As the number of residents age 65 and older continues to grow in York County, housing for the area is starting to reflect the trend.
Mid Atlantic Land Management is moving forward with their project originally submitted in November 2017 to build The Woods of King’s Creek in the upper portion of York County, according to county documents.
The housing development will feature 213 new unit homes restricted to residents ages 55 and older.
The development was approved in March 2018 and construction was set to begin in early 2019 and be complete by 2023. Tim Cross, deputy director of planning and development services, said since the company does not yet have an approved site plan, the timeline could change.
Mid Atlantic plans to complete the project in a set of phases, according to county documents.
The homes will be accessed through Tranquility Drive in York County, which is a private road that also serves the King’s Creek Plantation timeshares, Cross said.
During an analysis of impacts to public facilities and services, it was noted the current public water and sanitary sewer would be able to maintain the population growth in the area because households in The Woods of King’s Creek would have fewer members than the average county household.
In addition, a fiscal impact study showed the project will bring $6 million in net to the county over a period of 10 years.
By having an age-restricted community, the county also expects there to be less demands on traffic. During the traffic study, it was shown the residences would have an average of 3.6 trips each day, while non-age restricted communities have an average of 10 trips per day.
The study states part of the goal of the community is that it would attract and retain more seniors and retirees who “give back to the community.”
Cross said he has not seen any documentation showing the county has had difficulty in maintaining seniors. In fact, Cross cited the U.S. Census data to show the population of residents 65 and older has increased 40 percent from 2010 to 2017.
Additionally, the county already has 802 age-restricted housing developments on the ground and another 983 future units planned, not including those from The Woods at King’s Creek, Cross said.
In the community impact assessment from Jan. 26, the developers said the homes would have no impact on the county school system. It also said the project will provide households with discretionary purchasing power. This is aimed to help the Marquis retail center which has been losing business in past years, according to the assessment.
There is no set date for when the site plan will be approved.
