Terrace’s activities and renovations enhance retiree lifestyle

This isn’t your grandmother’s retirement community.

Or is it? If your grandmother likes to play cards with her friends, go to parties and hang out at wineries, then The Terrace Retirement Community, at 1408 Business Loop 70 West, is exactly her kind of place.

The recently renovated independent-living facility is bursting with active, fun-loving seniors who like to work out, gamble and take road trips. And the average age? 85.

“That’s a young 85; you’d never guess,” said Ginny Edgar, marketing director at The Terrace. “It kind of gives me a good feeling, that there is hope out there for being 85 or 90.”

With baby boomers reaching retirement age and medical advances increasing Americans’ life span and quality of life, more and more people seek living arrangements that both relieve them of the burdens associated with home-ownership and enhance their social and recreational experiences.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proportion of people older than 65 in Missouri is expected to increase to 20.1 percent by 2025. And if the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Retiree Recruitment Committee has its way, the city’s rate could be even higher.

Columbia was named one of the nation’s best retirement sites in a 1998 issue of Consumers Digest magazine, and this month the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the University of Missouri Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis ranked Boone County the best place in the state for retirees to live.

Edgar said although the occupancy at the Terrace has remained steadily full, the number of phone calls she gets from potential residents outside Columbia and outside the state has increased.

Columbia retirement communitiesare preparing for the boom. Lenoir Woods on the south side of town, a 60-year-old retirement community that boasts a 90 percent occupancy rate, is planning an expansion. The historic Tiger Hotel on 8th Street, which houses active-retiree apartments, has undergone major renovations to its ballroom and other facilities to restore its grandeur.

Recently completed upgrades to The Terrace include a new portico and entryway, a new lobby, a new reception area and an expanded family room. It’s this last development that’s perhaps the most important to the residents. They’re nothing if not social.

“There’s a very strong sense of community,” Edgar said. “People are friendly. There’s a warm, home type of atmosphere here.”

Along with holiday parties, movie nights, game nights, bingo tournaments and on-site musical performances, residents enjoy regular field trips.

Ernie Gaeth, a Columbia resident since 1970 and executive vice president and general manager at Riback Supply Co., said the community’s appetite for fun is perfect for his mother, 83-year-old Terrace resident Eileen Gaeth, who, on The Terrace’s Web site, gushes, “Living at the Terrace is just like being on vacation. I just love it here.”

“The social aspect is huge,” Ernie Gaeth said. “That’s the thing that makes my mom the happiest. She has a lot of friends there. She’s a very social person. This format fits her perfectly.”

When Ernie Gaeth’s father died eight years ago, Eileen Gaeth tried livingalone for two years, but maintaining the home on her own grew too difficult.

“She was ready to move,” her son said.

The Terrace’s facilities are only for independent seniors; no nursing-home-style assisted living is provided there.

Fortunately, Eileen Gaeth has no medical problems that would require regular, on-site care. In fact, Ernie Gaeth said, the new fitness regimen and active lifestyle she began when she moved into The Terrace have given her more vitality.

“I think her health is actually better since she’s been there,” he said.

Ernie Gaeth and his wife occasionally join his mother for lunch or take her out for dinner, visiting a couple of times a week.

But, given Eileen Gaeth’s busy social life, he doesn’t try to pin her down to a regular schedule. He wouldn’t want to cramp her style. •