Tag: flats

Assisted Living Solutions: Living stress-free after sixty

Aanandita Logo

This is part two of a three part series, taking you behind the scenes to understand the inspiration behind ‘Aanandita’, a one of a kind assisted living solution in the celestial town of Guruvayoor.

aanandita night view

According to a report by real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), India had around 100 million senior citizens (aged 60 and above) in 2012. This number is expected to double by 2030 and is in turn expected to constitute nearly 20 per cent of India’s population by 2050.* As this number increases, couples and individuals who want to be independent without compromising on safety and comfort are seeking alternative residential solutions for their retirement years.

Seniors in India are typically taken care of by their children or family members. Today with the younger generations travelling and settling down in different parts of the world, a large section of seniors are staying alone in traditional housing set ups that leave them exposed to risk of urban crime besides taking on the myriad hassles of day-to-day living in an urban ecosystem which is not sensitive to their requirements. The need for quality living facilities tailor made for independent senior citizens is paramount. These facilities cater to basic needs such as housing, nutrition, security and convenience while addressing their wellness needs. ‘Wellness’ as a perceivable need has transformed from just physical wellness to encompass financial, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, social and environmental wellness.

TYPES OF SENIOR HOUSING SOLUTIONS

  • INDEPENDENT LIVING (IL)

Ideal for active seniors who are able to take care of themselves and have no serious healthcare ailments.

Care for seniors begins with Independent Living (IL), an IL unit is no different from traditional housing but is better designed in terms of an architectural standpoint with the inclusion of various design interventions that bear in mind the requirements of active seniors. These could range from better lighting, mobility facilitation, and aspects of universal design. Bathrooms and kitchens are designed to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers, hallways and doors are wider and tiles and flooring are anti-skid. Socialisation plays an important role in uplifting the atmosphere of the IL and improving the health stature of the residents.

  • ASSISTED LIVING (AL)

Ideal for seniors needing some support for day to day activities.

Assisted Living units allow residents to have access to care workers who can assist the residents in day-to-day activities. It is possible in the Indian context to integrate both Independent Living and Assisted Living by having provision for care worker rooms within the Independent Living units. Such care worker units could double as an office in the younger stage and allow for a 24/7 care worker stay if required in later years. Both in Independent Living and Assisted Living, residents have access to short and long term nursing needs, while enjoying the environment similar to their home. This reduces the need to travel to hospitals and creates an atmosphere conducive for building a healthy lifestyle.

  • SKILLED NURSING CARE (SNC)

Ideal for seniors that need continuos medical attention and care in a homely environment.

Skilled Nursing Care (SNC) provides residents with nursing care facility. It has provision for taking care of physical or mental disabilities and the residents are provided with physical, occupational and rehabilitative therapies. Services increase considerably in this stage – with availability of nursing aides and assistants; physical, occupational and speech therapists; social workers and recreational assistants; and transportation. Greater care is required in a timely and appropriate manner. The prime objective during this stage is to provide a holistic and yet home-like environment to the residents.

While conceptualising ‘Aanandita’ thorough research was done to understand the various ingredients that would make the perfect solution for our customers and we are delighted to bring this solution to you. Aanandita has re-imagined post retirement living. Our offering is at the cusp of Independent Living and Assisted living, a haven that celebrates independence without compromising on security and serenity.

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REAL ESTATE IN THE THRISSUR CONTEXT

Real estate is one of the sunshine sectors of city of Thrissur’s economy. Land availability, image of a clean and green city, good law and order situation, presence of reputed educational institutions and tremendous scope for promoting tourism industry are the pillars of Thrissur real estate hopes. With Kochi becoming more and more congested day-by-day, in due course of time the city of Thrissur is expected to see a spurt in the number of property buyers. City of Thrissur has always been a favourite among builders of owing to its central location. Further, the increasing prominence of Guruvayur, warrants the construction of additional apartments/ flats in Guruvayur.

Demand for flats, villas or plots in Thrissur has since long been primarily dominated by the genuine home seekers, rather than those on a speculative note. As such, it has been witness to consistent and steady growth over the last couple of decades. The profile of buyers are essentially of the salaried segment, NRI’s and people who are currently working in different cities of India and looking forward to retire and return to roots. The demand therefore is for budget flats, premium apartments and luxury villas in Thrissur.

According to real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield, the presence of a number of educational institutions, leading hospitals are instrumental in driving the demand for flats, villas and gated communities in Thrissur. A Cushman report says that the availability of land and preference to villas have convinced developers to go in for niche products. This has resulted in apartments/flats in Thrissur being launched in crucial locations where land is scarce. Given the land prices in the heart of the city, purchase of requisite land and construction of an independent home has become a herculean task especially when it comes to financial outlay. The budget flat/apartment buyer is then left with only two options, either to move to the outskirts or to opt for flat/apartments in Thrissur City. The general consensus indicates to the latter where the client prefers to be near all basic amenities without being part of the traffic and congestion as seen in other cities. This is combined with the added advantage of community living and the security that the flats/ apartments in Thrissur have to offer.

For an investor, Thrissur provides for realistic growth as has been seen over the last couple of decades. The areas in Thrissur witnessing apartment activity are Punkunnam, Kottapuram, Viyyur, Muthuvara, Swaraj Round and Guruvayur to name a few.

Metamorphosis of dwelling culture in Thrissur

The initial baby steps on the real estate front started way back in the 70’s where people started investing in plots paving the way for a gated community living in Thrissur. Land at that time being affordable and with the onset of the nuclear family revolution, real estate activity started to pick up steam. The primary reason for the immense market growth was the increased acceptance to the flat/apartment culture similar to what each client was used to outside of Kerala.

As indicated earlier, with only 30% of the state land available for residential development, the only probable and logical solution to the housing crunch is in going vertical. This is one of the reasons which led to Vishraam executing over 30 multi-storey projects in and around Punkunnam. We sincerely hope that the government along with all our support will come up with a long term vision and a sustainable development plan to ensure that all living creatures are entitled to a fair share of Mother Earths natural resources and avoid any sort of undue exploitation in an attempt to leave behind a legacy for the generations to come.