Recreation, shopping add perks to style

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The National Association of Home Builders Web site (www.NAHB.org) includes a profile of the new active adult home buyer, which reveals that the average age of the buyers in age-restricted communities, where at least one homeowner must be age 55 or older, has dropped over the past 10 years from 67 to 61.

This group of buyers values ties to the community and will first look for a home near where they live, the NAHB profile reports.

Builders are responding to this information by developing active adult communities close to existing neighborhoods with plenty of recreational amenities to appeal to younger buyers.

The active adult developments in Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties all include homes with one-level living.

Stavrou Associates Inc., a Lanham-based developer, has designed Cameron Grove in Upper Marlboro, which will feature about 860 homes set on 162 acres with tree-lined boulevards and cascading fountains.

Amenities include walking and biking trails, ponds, gardens and pavilions, tennis courts and a 14-acre park with a softball field, a golf chipping range and a pet park.

The town center has a garden with a fountain and a resort spa and health club. Other facilities include a fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a performing arts center, a movie theater, a sports bar, a billiards room, craft studios, libraries and a business center.

Condominiums, base-priced from $210,000 to $305,000, have one or two bedrooms, a den/solarium off the living room, a dining area and one to two baths. Condominium fees for a two-bedroom home are $106 per month, with an additional $69 for the homeowners fees.

The two-bedroom cottages, with 1,478 to 1,571 square feet, feature a one- or two-car garage, two full baths, formal living and dining rooms, a large eat-in kitchen and a covered front porch.

The cottages are priced from $409,000 to $421,600. Monthly homeowner association fees are $157.