Senior-living centers grow in popularity

The influx of retirees to Myrtle Beach is bringing more senior-living centers that give older residents an option to have the safety and recreation of living in one facility together but without assistance.

Eaglecrest, located at Robert M. Grissom Parkway and 38th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach, will be the newest of those centers.

Rocco Cartisano, assistant director of Coastal Carolina's Center for the Study of Aging and Retirement, said more national companies are looking at building retirement living centers in Brunswick County, N.C., and possibly Horry County.

"They're coming because they know the seniors are coming here," Cartisano said.

Seniors ages 65 and older are expected to make up 36 percent of the Grand Strand's population by 2025. They made up 21 percent of the population of Horry, Georgetown and Brunswick counties in the 2000 census.

The Grand Strand's hot real estate market is being fueled by seniors buying up homes or condominiums they plan to retire to once they move to the Strand.

Down the road, many might choose a retirement center to escape the daily chores of cooking, cleaning and maintenance, Cartisano said.

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