By Barbara Petty

Bill Sears
Bill Sears is the epitome of a "local boy done good." And I don't mean good in the financial sense, although his architectural firm of Sears, Hackney, Keener, and Williams, Inc. is one of the area's longest standing firms. What I mean by good is the transcendental good son - a man determined to find a better life for his retired parents, and determined to keep them out of the traditional facility. After months and years of research, Mr. Sears has found an even greater need, a new retirement model that is not for just his parents, but one desperately needed by an entire community.

SearStone, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit life care community, is being developed on the 75 acres of what was once Sears Farm, a plot of land on the corner of Davis Drive and High House Road that goes back eight generations. A Town of Cary expansion project in 2000 required that the original farmhouse be moved away from that corner, a home in which Bill Sears' parents still lived and had planned on living until their passing. Structural problems prevented moving the house to a different location, so the house was torn down and Mr. and Mrs. Sears were moved to a house in Apex.

Son Bill and siblings, three brothers and one sister, formed a holding company, Sears Farm, LLC, that then purchased the property. Research on retirement communities began in earnest. What grew out of this research was a brand new retirement model. "SearStone is really a healthcare product," explained Sears. "The project is predicated on the need for my parents to have a suitable environment for retirement. To do that, healthcare must be accessible when needed."

SearStone is a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) as defined by the N.C. Department of Insurance and the Division of Facility Services, with a few important exceptions. No one actually owns the property; the entrance fee covers a lifetime right to be there, and the monthly maintenance fees are based on the resident's requested level of services. Upon departure, the entrance fee is 100% refunded. The maintenance, insurance, basically everything is covered by the Foundation; any excess revenue is reinvested in the property.

Bill Sears, an Apex High School and N.C. State University graduate, has taken the CCRC model to a new level - what is being called New Urbanism. "New Urbanism is really pseudo-urbanism," explains Sears. "You can see these types of neighborhoods going back to the Greeks, the Romans and the Egyptians. At that time, there was a need to put all of one's needs within walking distance of your home. SearStone is a mixed use environment because we want the community to be at the center of a bustling, thriving environment, and the residents involved and engaged."

SearStone is comprised of three components: retail shops (that will include high-end shopping and health food stores, banks, drug stores, etc.); an office and institution level (doctor's offices, an urgent care facility, facilities that will support the needs of the residents); and the residential homes. Parking is 60% underground to minimize the visual and environmental impact.

In the center of SearStone is a conservatory and SearStone Lake, intended to attract not just residents but also the entire Town of Cary. "We have designed this part of the development to engage artists, children, and musicians to take part in this setting," says Sears. "The conservatory will be large enough to allow the North Carolina Symphony to perform, and we are currently in conversation with them to make that happen."

In an attempt to involve as much of the community as possible, some of the other programs include Wake Tech nursing students using SearStone as a teaching and learning facility, while the conservatory's botanical garden may also be used by N.C. State as a teaching facility. "We are in the process of establishing a scholarship at UNC for the advancement of gerontology - available to medical students specializing in that field," notes Sears. "This community will also be used as a field laboratory for that study."

Another interesting fact about SearStone is that it is completely secure without being a gated community. "Through my years of being in charge of security at the Legislative Building, I have learned that there are other ways of securing a site."

"What I really am trying to create is a reason for people to get up and live each and every day," continues Sears. "The reality is that in most nursing homes you get up to find out how many people have died in the night. If you have a community that's engaged, and you have a reason for getting up each and every day, then you probably will - it's called quality of life."

As designed, SearStone will have 212 residences. The homes have been priced in the widest range possible and practical for the amenities offered. Assisted living, skilled nursing, and dementia services will be available on an as-needed basis. Models range from townhomes to luxury apartments to estate homes. A medical director will be on-site. Staff, appropriately trained in skilled nursing, will expand as the population ages in place.

Over 200 pre-sales are in place now, and people from 40 states are on the pre-sale list. "Because of the uniqueness of the model, we have attracted national interest," explains Sears. "The word has gone out - this is the type of retirement destination that people have been looking for."

Bill and his wife are also going to be residents - and according to the time-line Phase One should be completed by 2010. I asked Mr. Sears if he planned on retiring then, to which he replied, "No, I will probably continue working, even if on a scaled back schedule."

SearStone is philosophically intended to change the definition of retirement - it's intended to keep the residents involved, engaged, and alive. What's going on at the conservatory? What's going on around the lake? What's happening at the shops? "This is the Genesis of retirement communities of the future," smiles Sears. "If we are successful, and early indications say that we will be, then SearStone will be the model for other communities around the country to follow."