Cue 'Golden Girls' theme: A new concept in senior living
A startup founded by a former social worker is testing a new senior living concept, one that borrows ideas familiar to fans of a certain 1980s sitcom.
The idea, from Minneapolis-based Vibrante founder Roxanne Cornell, is this: Buy a house and lease it to four women, age 55 and older. The tenants she's looking for are characterized as active, single women who no longer want to live alone, looking to downsize, and who don't want to live on a senior living campus that can have up to 100 units.
The concept worked great for "The Golden Girls," which ran for seven seasons on NBC and picked up a bunch of Emmys along the way. The shared-house model is also common among young adults, but Cornell thinks the time is right to try it with the Baby Boomer crowd. "Boomers are recreating what retirement looks like and what housing for people 55-plus look like," she's said.
