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Jeffrey DeMure is an architect by profession and a passionate generationalist by vocation. The principal of a thriving practice in Northern California, Jeff works and speaks all over the country on the subject of reinventing the model for 55+ living.

Jeff is quick to remind us that, with Americans living on average 30 years longer than they did at the beginning of the last century, there is no longer one profile for the retired. Three different generations inhabit this general category, with very different needs—and even more, very different attitudes about themselves and aging.

America’s oldest retirees are those of The Greatest Generation—the people who grew up with the Great Depression and fought in World War II. That group—now in their mid eighties and up—represents the more traditional image of the senior citizen. The Silent Generation retirees, now in their late sixties to mid eighties, have been the first to rethink how they want to live in their retirement years—and some have chosen not to retire at all. Now that the Boomers, some 80 million strong, are entering into retirement age at a rate of 10,000 people turning 65 every day, there is more pressure than ever for a redefinition of active adult living.

Jeff tells us that the Boomer senior is less likely to move away from their home area, and more likely to put off aging as long as they can. As they recognize physical frailties, they are more likely to get a knee or a hip replaced than lose their mobility. He sees the differences in age and outlook as a sociological puzzle to be solved as much as an architectural opportunity.

Our conversation with Jeff will last for three more weeks, so be sure to tune in. You can download the entire series on iTunes or on Facebook.

The Real Story wishes you a happy holiday season and stellar 2012. We’ll be back in January with more insights and conversations. In the meantime, be sure to like us on Facebook to get our podcasts delivered directly to your news feed.The entire 2011 lineup of The Real Story is available on iTunes.

Warmest wishes to all!

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When most people think about energy savings in a new home, their minds move almost immediately to solar power. Yet many of the smaller, less headline-worthy technologies readily available today are what really make the difference in one’s energy bills.

The Real Story is talking to Chuck Schoenberger, Executive Vice President of O’Brien Homes, about his company’s multi-family home community in Sunnyvale, Fusion. Fusion is being built inside the environs of a business park—a new direction for homebuilding, but surely one that makes sense when it comes to promoting an energy-conserving lifestyle. Chuck says that the residents can walk or bicycle to work, to retail or to public transportation. What’s more, because this community is considered “infill” in an established area, there are plenty of mature trees and greenbelts to blur the lines of the architecture and create a welcoming streetscape.

Chuck confesses to be hugely interested in solar, yet made the decision not to do solar roofs for the Fusion community. Why? The payback is too far out—some 10 - 15 years—to make solar installation a plus for most homebuyers. Instead, the features that are decidedly low on the sex appeal-scale—Energy Star appliances, more and better insulation, high quality vinyl windows and zoned thermostats—are the real heroes in the drive to consume less energy and enjoy lower energy bills.

Our talk with Chuck continues next week.  In the meantime, you can download this week’s conversation on iTunes or hear it on Facebook.

On this Thanksgiving, The Real Story thanks YOU for your interest and support. We’ll return next week with more from Chuck Schoenberger of O’Brien Homes on building for the new generation of homebuyers. Log on and listen in!

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One of the best insights about green building for tomorrow comes from a builder who has been focused on quality building for decades. Chuck Schoenberger, Senior Vice President of Operations for O’Brien Homes, could write the book on quality homebuilding. So it’s not too much of a stretch to see O’Brien Homes take on a leadership role in the green building movement as well.

Chuck talks this week about participating in focus groups with prospective homebuyers to understand how a homeowner perceives “value” in different aspects of green building. Surprisingly, most of the prospective buyers couldn’t name a green feature after solar panels and tankless water heaters. Given the enormous undertaking of researching and selecting construction vendor partners who understand the materials and have the installation know-how, Chuck wants to spend more time educating the new home buying community about the kinds of things that can make a house healthy, and more energy and cost-efficient.

“Today’s buyer equates saving energy to saving money,” he says. Yet in a new home community, like O’Brien’s “Fusion” neighborhood in Sunnyvale, which has been built in excess of Build It Green’s 50-point checklist, the homebuyers—mostly first-timers—also have an opportunity to live a greener lifestyle by bicycling to work and using community-designed recreation and gathering areas instead of driving around town.

“Human behavior will work itself out,” says Chuck. But in the meantime, Chuck sees cities like Sunnyvale leading the charge for the change to green.

Next week, The Real Story talks to Chuck about the economics of green development in a recession, and how green construction translates into dollars in the consumers’ pockets.  You can download this interview on iTunes or listen in on Facebook.

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The Real Story had the opportunity to sit down with Chuck Schoenberger, Partner and Senior Vice President of Operations for O’Brien Homes. In his 20 years with the company, Chuck has overseen the construction of more than 2,000 homes. These days, he is a homebuilder dedicated to improving the quality of the built environment, and in doing so, a leader in green construction.

In Chuck’s experience, today’s homebuyer is looking for a home whose construction quality and features provide a healthier and more efficient living environment, with reduced energy bills. Not only has his company had experience in building homes in every price point and almost every locale in the Bay Area since its founding in 1976, O’Brien Homes has been an industry leader in quality controls. Often, says Chuck, the company’s commitment to quality has led to whole new approaches to building. To ensure that new ideas are embraced by trades and suppliers, O’Brien has helped educate its trade partners in changes in the building sciences.

Chuck’s conversation this week points out the ways in which homebuilders are matching up technological advances with the features that matter most to their buyers. As the conversation progresses this month, Chuck will be discussing how the Fusion neighborhood in Sunnyvale is delivering a green lifestyle to a high-tech buyer profile.

You can download this interview on iTunes or listen in on Facebook. The conversation continues all month, so be sure to log on.