Rented retirement home provider Birchgrove and student letting platform Hybr have announced a new intergenerational living scheme.
Ayrton House is a new 60 apartment rental retirement community in Mill Hill, North London. When it opens in October, 16 apartments across the third and fourth floors will be offered exclusively to trainee doctors and nurses from the local hospital, university post-graduates, and graduate scheme students.
The pioneering scheme has been designed to generate a vibrant community by harnessing the benefits of intergenerational living. The students will live at Ayrton House on short-term tenancies running until June 2025, sharing communal facilities with the development’s retirees – including full access to the gym and the same subsidised rates in the restaurant. The rent on the 16 student units will be approximately 50 per cent of market value.
At the end of the tenancies in June 2025, the 16 student units will be vacated and restored to first use state, before being let to retirees.
Birchgrove chief executive Honor Barratt said: “Traditionally, intergenerational living took the form of generations of the same family residing together in a single household. Today, we are pioneering a new model: one that brings different generations together within the same purpose-built housing development. It’s a unique approach, one that we’re hugely excited about, and that we believe will really benefit both young and elderly residents alike.”
Hybr founder Hannah Chappatte said: “We're breaking down stereotypes and breaking the mould of traditional housing! Honor and I saw an opportunity to address the two loneliest subsections of societies - the under 25s and the over 70s. We’re tackling the housing crisis for students (where students need more available housing options) while finding a solution to the severe loneliness amongst seniors.
“The seniors support the younger people by making them feel like they have a purpose and familial presence, and seniors get to be around the young to create a more upbeat environment: fostering connections that enrich lives and reduce loneliness. It's not for everyone, but it's a real win, win for those that buy into the concept.”
