Ruppies: the latest real estate trend for seniors

There has been a new boomer trend that has been consistently growing in major cities around the United States that is creating a shift in the housing and building products marketplace – retired suburbanites are downsizing and leaving their single-family “empty nests” in the ‘burbs and returning to the city to enjoy all that bustling cities have to offer. Coined by author Kyle Ezell of K&A Associates, Ruppies (retired urban professionals) are active mature adults and predominantly affluent empty nesters.

“This group is defying the standards set by their ‘traditional’ counterparts by living their lives on their own terms and eschewing typecasts associated with retirement,” said Steven Kleber, president and founder of K&A. “Influenced by our culture’s obsession with youth, Ruppies are interested in remaining active and integral to what’s going on around them.”

In the city that invented the skyscraper, The Clare in Chicago is a 54-story high-rise for senior citizens and is pitching retirees for city living. It is a stacked version of a suburban senior citizens home, combining individual apartments and common spaces such as workout rooms and dining areas. While most of its 334 apartments are for independent, able-bodied seniors, the rest offer assisted living and skilled nursing similar to hospital care.