>>As local builders scurry to include green-building components for environment-conscious home buyers, another factor is beginning to change the way they build and sell.

The concept's catchwords are "aging in place" and "universal construction." The former label applies to features for older homeowners wanting to avoid nursing-home care-such as safety bars in tubs or wide doorways for wheelchairs. The latter refers to the same features meant for any homeowner who appreciates added safety.

Whatever the name, it also appeals to people rooted to their digs by the tax situation-protected by the Save Our Homes tax cap, they can't afford to move to another home, subject to much higher taxes.

"These are folks who, because of the property tax situation, are practically captives in their homes. They're staying there longer than they thought they would, and they're living longer, too," says Lee Building Association executive vice president Michael Reitmann. "Now they're looking to make those homes better equipped to serve their needs as they age."

Although Florida is known for its older population, an aging population is a national phenomenon. The U.S. Census reported that on July 1, 2004, the number of people in the country age 65 and older was 36.3 million-12 percent of the total population. By 2050, the Census projects, there will be 86.7 million people age 65 and older in this country, or 21 percent of the total population.

Building professionals are responding to the trend.

The National Association of Home Builders, through its Remodelers Council, has a program to teach remodeling specialists how to tailor homes for the aging-in-place market. Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) learn how to assess a homeowner's needs and then deliver products that meet them, all the while preserving the home's ambiance. More than 800 professionals have completed the CAPS course since 2002.

CAPS remodeler Abbie Sladick, of Abbie Joan Enterprises, Naples, is a longtime proponent of the concept. "Safety features were a tough sell five years ago," she recalls. "I knew just how tough when one client said she'd rather slip in the shower than have her friends think she needed one of those ugly bars."

That led Sladick to design the Great Grabz product line of decorative safety bars. Some are so decorative-wavy bars, for instance-that they don't look like safety features.

National specialists in senior housing are on the same wave length. "The challenge in aging-in-place design is providing the platform for future accommodation without making the design accommodation prematurely apparent," says Dave Schreiner, national vice president of Pulte Homes/Del Webb Communities.

Sladick stresses that many ways are available to make homes more hospitable to older residents, sometimes at an additional cost of around 5 percent. Making floor space wider by using pocket doors or French doors is an option, as is installing a wheelchair-friendly, no-threshold tub. Her Naples showroom allows visitors to explore the possibilities.

Sladick says interest has intensified in the past 12 months, especially since homeowners are learning that safety doesn't have to be ugly. "No one should think they have to accept what's standard," she states. "Plenty of attractive innovations are available."

Fellow CAPS Remodeler Kathryn Guyitt agrees. "Many companies now offer good-looking products that serve as safety features. Many were shown at the International Builders Show in Orlando in February."

As vice chairperson of the Collier Building Industry Remodelors Council and president of DesignTech of Southwest Florida, in Bonita Springs and Naples, she's been getting the word out to colleagues and the public, and plans are in the works for future seminars and workshops to do the same.

"We're getting more demand now because the public is becoming more educated," she says. "We see that now when we suggest safety features to clients, they're more open."

Veteran builder and senior-building specialist Thomas Harrison recently founded a company in Bonita Springs to meet what he sees as the needs of an underserved market: active adults 55 and older, and "super seniors" 70 and older. His Discovery Communities will be launching an active-adult condo community in Venice and super senior condominiums on Marco Island and in Sarasota and Orlando.

"We've asked seniors in focus groups what they want, and it isn't more space but better functionality," Harrison reports.

Manufacturers are cooperating, he says, with more senior-friendly washers and dryers and pullout dishwashers that require no bending. His new units will have counter surfaces resistant to bacteria and closets tailored to senior-reach considerations.

Discovery Communities' The Commons at Marco Island will allow 70-plus residents in 123 units to own their own homes equipped with the latest safety features and also to have access to dining, transportation, recreational amenities and optional medical services.

Not everyone needs the whole enchilada.

George Braendle, a 63-year-old Great Grabz customer and Pelican Landing of Bonita Springs homeowner, says he and his wife, Debi, sought the safety grab bars for their grandchildren and Debi's visiting parents. Two surprises occurred: "We discovered they're great support for getting out of our own deep whirlpool tub," he explains, "and they fit right in with the look of all three of our bathrooms."