Like a lot of baby boomers, gay and lesbian retirees are looking for a safe, fun place to live out their autumn years.

But Arizona's retirement offerings might not cut it for many, because of a lack of like-minded residents or a fear of coming out to the neighbors.

Out Properties LLC, a St. Louis development firm, hopes to change that by marketing a unique lifestyle to this niche group it calls "gayby boomers," or gay baby boomers. It plans to build a resort community, Marigold Creek, in Surprise catering to gay retirees.

It will sit on 32 acres on and will include 190 condos and homes ranging from $249,000 to $850,000. The first units are expected to open by fall 2009.

"For some people, this might be the very first time in their entire life they've been able to live somewhere where they can be themselves," said Debi Purvis, principal with Out Properties.

The group is a division of Aventurs Development, and Marigold Creek is its first gay and lesbian retirement development.

Out Properties is only in the early planning stages with the city, Surprise senior planner Janice See said. The City Council eventually must sign off on zoning and land use changes to allow a higher density, she said. But based on preliminary talks, the project sounds favorable, See said.

Such communities exist or are in the works in Florida, California and New Mexico. But Marigold Creek is considered the first community of its kind in Arizona.

Doug Beckwith, 56, lives in Chandler's Sun Lakes. While he enjoys the community, he sees the advantages of a place like Marigold Creek.

"We spent our whole lives always being different and being outcasts," he said. "It would be kind of nice to live in a place where everyone else had gone through the same experience."

Marigold Creek's sales pitch hits on that very point.

"Imagine a place where your neighbors are just like you. They share your interests and have similar lifestyles," an online statement reads. "Everyone is welcome, accepted and safe."

Existing communities don't always work for gays, said Steve Donovan, a local Realtor and member of the Arizona Gay Realtor Alliance.

Donovan said he has known many members of the gay community who moved into existing Valley retirement developments, only to be disappointed and move away.

"They realized that wasn't the best choice, because it was not really geared toward that lifestyle," Donovan said.

Tucson resident Frances Coleman, 53, understands the need.

"The really big advantage is, you don't have to go back into the closet and squish yourself," she said. "You can live with your partner and not have to pretend you're roommates."

Coleman launched a senior group four years ago for Wingspan, a Tucson-based outreach center for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. She said she has encountered many retirees who chose to settle down in gated communities but kept their sexuality a secret.

"As a gay person, you're constantly coming out to people in every single venue - or constantly hiding, if that's how you live," she said.

Veronica St. Claire, chief executive of the Gay & Lesbian Association of Retiring Persons Inc., is pushing for a similar development in Palm Springs, Calif.

RainbowVision Properties Inc. is nearing the second anniversary of its community in Santa Fe, N.M. Similar to Marigold Creek, it features mixed housing options and assisted living. Roughly 70 percent of residents are from the gay and lesbian community, the rest "allies," said Jane Steinberg, its national director of marketing and sales.

RainbowVision is nearing construction on a condo project in Palm Springs, and is working on developments in San Francisco and Vancouver.

[FROM Arizona development aims at gay retirees]
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