Smaller Southern cities target retirees

Attention retirees, smaller cities throughout the South want you.

Six Southern states have marketing programs identifying some of their less populated counties, cities or towns as "certified retirement communities."

These are not gated subdivisions bristling with new homes. Rather, they are cities and towns eager to lure the growing 55-and-over adults and their money.

Certified retirement communities claim to have the right mix of affordable housing, proximity to medical care, a relatively low cost of living, and recreational and cultural opportunities for retirees who are staying active longer.

But it remains to be seen if this is a trend other states will follow, or if these programs are just quick-fix marketing campaigns that fall short of producing long-term, sustainable interest in their towns. The marketing programs only spotlight the positives of each city, making them just one of many sources of information a retiree should use if they decide to relocate.

Currently, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Carolina have state-supported retirement community programs, with North Carolina's in early development. West Virginia's program is privately run, with state involvement. Kentucky stopped its marketing program due to funding cuts, but a handful of that state's cities still promote themselves as certified retirement communities. The origins of Mississippi's program dates back to the mid-1990s.

There is no national program for certified retirement communities, and there's no standard certification process. Rather, each state sets its criteria which are generally based on factors including the availability of affordable housing, tax breaks, continuing education, health care, emergency medical services, public transportation and even performing arts and sports. The American Association of Retirement Communities does give a seal of approval for cities and developments it deems worthy, whether or not they are in these programs.

Texas' program, which began fully operating this year, includes Winnsboro, a northeast Texas town of about 4,000 people, and about 20 other cities. Application fees run $5,000 for Texas cities with 20,000 people or less, with the amount increasing 25 cents per person after that, said Veronica Obregon, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program.

The state then decides whether to add the city to the list and starts promoting it in its Internet, print and broadcast marketing campaigns.

"We're laying out a welcome mat to our communities," said Todd Staples, secretary of Texas' Department of Agriculture.

Texas already is a popular retirement state, partly because it does not have a state income tax and does not tax retirement income or inheritance. It also allows counties and cities to freeze homestead taxes for homeowners 65 or older.

Still, tiny Winnsboro is no Houston. It's not even Beaumont. It's a very small town that needs help generating revenue.

So, the excitement that percolates from Shane Shepard's voice is understandable as he talks about Winnsboro's retail-heavy Main Street, its 40-bed hospital and its neighboring lakes.

Shepard, Winnsboro's community development director, says he's seeing more interest from retirees based on advertising they saw about Winnsboro. He's nearly bragging when he talks about a new $3 million senior living center that is bringing 25 jobs with it. Or the planned $5 million complex of apartments and garden homes geared to seniors.

"We saw this as an investment with taxpayer money and ... definitely are getting a return on our investment," Shepard said.

Winnsboro seems to be winning out, but it's not clear if the programs are producing significant change in every state.

Some cities are trying to lure retirees with minor incentives. In Oxford, Miss., Mississippi State University allows retirees 65 or older to take up to four hours free of charge, said Christy Knapp, vice president for economic development for Oxford and Lafayette County, Miss.

In Thibodaux, La., Chamber of Commerce President Kathy Benoit says a new mixed-use neighborhood being built near Nicholls St. University will be perfect for seniors looking to relocate.

But economic development folks in several other certified retirement communities, and the Web sites touting many of these cities, fail to identify significant new incentives or developments that could attract seniors. The advertisements mostly accentuate what is already there, rather than discuss anything new they have to offer.

Lauren Shaham, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, advises that no decision should be made on a single marketing campaign or what's written on a brochure.

"Anything that gives focused attention to meeting the needs of the aging is positive," Shaham said. "This certification could be one factor but it should never be the only one because there is no one indicator that applies to all people."

Charles Campbell, an economics professor at Mississippi State who has studied the retirement communities, said some cities in Mississippi's program fell short of truly having enough affordable housing, medial facilities or other quality amenities that would make them ideal for seniors.

Campbell made some recommendations to the college city of Starkville, Miss., on ways to make them fit the mold, such as having a senior center. He said some Mississippi cities have lost their standing as certified retirement communities.

"The problem with it right now is that there are too many communities that have the designation or would like to have the designation that just are not qualified," Campbell said. "You can't call yourself a retirement city just because old people are welcomed to come."

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