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New Jersey Housing; PLANNING HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY

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By ELLEN RAND

Published: June 28, 1981

BURTON BERGER was frustrated. An architect, he hates to see blinds and draperies closed, as many were during a recent visit to Baldwin Oaks, a 250-unit apartment project for the elderly in Parsippany.

A partner in the New York City architectural and planning firm of Gruzen & Partners, Mr. Berger had been in charge of design for the project, which was developed by the National Corporation for Housing Partnerships of Washington, D.C.

Baldwin Oaks consists of three interconnected L-shaped buildings that surround an internal park, which has passive and active recreational features. These include benches, a walking path and a shuffleboard court.

The project embodies many of the planning concepts for the elderly that Gruzen & Partners has come to believe in. One of them is for public spaces and apartment interiors to have as much natural light as possible.

Despite residents' determination to undo this architectural element, Mr. Berger considers Baldwin Oaks a successful undertaking. ''If my grandmother were alive today, she would be living in a project like this,'' he said. ''They didn't have anything like this back then. I think there has finally been a recognition that the elderly are not second-grade citizens. They deserve comfortable living.''

Perhaps one of the development's most ingenious features is the way its public spaces have been designed. A series of jagged walls makes the spaces seem like intimate conversation nooks rather than a cavernous open space.

According to Mr. Berger, the most important ingredient in designing housing for the elderly is creating a sense of identity and orientation. Thus, his planning and architectural firm also was careful to delineate different floors and different wings of the buildings from one another through the use of different-color carpeting, doors and hallways.

But it takes more than sensitive architecture to convince a diverse group of elderly residents that they are part of a community. At Baldwin Oaks, the catalyst for that is Catherine Luksh, the project manager.

''I used to teach kindergarten,'' she said. ''The elderly have a lot in common with preschoolers. No one listens to them, either.'' Mrs. Luksh views the residents as being part of one large family, with herself as its head, living under one roof. Although many of the residents' activities are self-generated, Mrs. Luksh said that she had arranged for about 75 percent of them, including excursions to dinner-theaters and Atlantic City.

''A lot of it is begging, borrowing and stealing,'' she said. ''We've had a Ping Pong set, a bingo game and a shuffleboard set donated to us. I've called stores to arrange for local delivery routes and Town Hall to arrange for a bus stop. Mostly, we've got a good response.''

There are art classes each Wednesday, dancing and bingo once a week and regular meetings of a social club. Health experts have come to the development to discuss topics ranging from nutrition, exercise and mental health to sexuality, and the Community Room has been used by residents for family events like birthdays, anniversary parties and baby showers.

Despite the availability of formal and informal activities, many of the residents prefer to remain aloof, spending much of their time in their own apartments. Mrs. Luksh makes it a policy to call a resident if she notices that mail or newspapers have not been picked up, but she says that ''the residents are their own best sentries. They knock on each other's doors to make sure that everything is O.K.''

''Families are not always supportive,'' she noted. ''We've had some instances where it was apparent that tenants could not keep up the apartments all by themselves anymore, and I've helped them arrange for some kind of social services.

''It's difficult for these people to ask for help. They'd rather do without than to have someone to help them. Sometimes, they just need a little direction.''

For example, some of the widows find dealing with financial matters troublesome. ''They'll say, 'My husband did all that; I don't know how,' '' Mrs. Luksh said. ''We had one woman who was going to move in, but canceled because rent has to be paid by check or money order. She had never had a checking account.''

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