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If Dennis Hopper’s rants in those Ameriprise commercials can be believed, the baby boomer generation is going to change retirement as we know it. If nothing else, there are an awful lot of them—more than 76 million, the largest generation in U.S. history—and as they retire, an awful lot of real estate developers are going to make a lot of money catering to them.

Doug Diez hasn’t yet made a profit on The Greens, his “active adult community” in Gonzales that’s part of the Pelican Point development, but he figures it won’t be long now. A study he commissioned eight years ago by the ProMatura Group, which researches consumer trends among people 50 and older, found that the market for his development wouldn’t truly arrive until about 2009, but he got started anyway and opened the place to prospective buyers in 2001. He says they only sold about 10 homes the first few years, although they’re now up to 113.

“We wanted to learn this business before the business really started,” Diez says. “We’re probably at least a year away from this being a really strong trend.”

As Diez explains, an official active adult community as defined by federal regulations does not permit any full-time residents under the age of 18. Also, 80% of the households must have at least one spouse over 55 years old.

Active adult communities have been a significant presence in various parts of the country for years, even decades, but Louisiana never really picked up on the trend. The Louisiana Retirement Development Commission lists only three such communities in the state: The Greens, The Bluffs on Thompson Creek in St. Francisville and Willow Lake in Bossier City. The Bluffs is not age-restricted, and does not market specifically to retirees, according to a sales representative.

The idea is to create an active community made up of people at a similar stage in life. Often, the residents of such communities are looking for a smaller home and yard, with larger doorways and more handicapped accessibility, Diez says.

“The theory is that they’ve worked hard all their lives, and their whole life has been kids and their jobs, and they haven’t had a whole lot of time for themselves and their friends,” Diez says, and they come to the conclusion that “it’s time to start thinking a little bit about ourselves.”

Such developments typically include amenities like driving ranges, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, restaurants and lounges. At The Greens, there are numerous organized activities, including wine tastings, barbecues and golf events.

“People don’t come here to grow old, they come here to stay young,” says Ruby Thomas, a Greens representative, who estimates that about 70% of the community’s residents are retired. “Developing a social structure is very important to the success of the community.” Once you get them started, they start to plan their own diversions, she says.

The first active adult community opened in Arizona in 1960, says Margaret Wylde, ProMatura’s president and CEO, and the concept has gained popularity nationwide in recent years. As you might expect, Florida is full of them, and quite a few can be found in Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Washington, D.C., area.

Wylde has a database that includes about 2,200 of the developments, and she estimates the total number in the United States may be about twice that number. In south Louisiana, developments are planned for Covington and Slidell, she says.

As the boomers retire, the demand will likely increase. By 2011, more than half of homeowners are expected to be over 50 years old, she says. Wylde says her firm did a study for then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco showing that attracting retirees would provide a significant boost to the state’s economy, but was unsure what happened with the information.

The Legislature created the Louisiana Retirement Development Commission in 1999 to promote the state as a retirement destination. For the current fiscal year, the commission has a budget of just over $675,000, its highest level, says commission executive director Heather Reggio. Earlier this year, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu launched a program to identify and promote cities and parishes as “certified retirement communities” based on available amenities, development history, affordability, access to shopping and health care and other factors. Four cities—Covington, Crowley, Lake Charles and Thibodaux—and three parishes—Jefferson, Natchitoches and St. Landry—were certified this year.

Other efforts include publishing The Good Life magazine, maintaining the retirelouisiana.org Web site, and possibly some national advertisements in the spring, Reggio says. The state is also trying to develop an active adult lifestyle community in Richland Parish, having spent $40 million in the parish on public recreational resources like the Black Bear Golf Club.

Research shows that a 1% increase in Louisiana’s 55-and-over population would lead to a $3.2 net economic impact, 476 new jobs and 3,600 more residents undertaking volunteer activities, Reggio says.

“This is something we need to concentrate more on in our area,” says Billy Ward, president of the Capital Region Homebuilders Association, referring to the relative lack of local developments catering to seniors. “And I can tell you it’s coming.”