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As baby boomers age, their housing needs change.

With that in mind, Friendship Haven started development of the 22 wooded acres north of the current complex to build three types of homes in a secluded, natural setting.

StoneBridge at Friendship Haven will offer 33 town homes, with completion of the first round expected by the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011.

Tremain Architects & Planners Ltd., of St. Paul, Minn., took on the project. Architect Dale Tremain designed Kenyon Place and The Gardens, which "won several national awards for design for the buildings."

But now, he said, he gets to work with "the most unique and beautiful site I've ever had a chance to work on. The site was so beautiful, it was a little bit daunting how to respectfully do this."

An open house Wednesday night for those interested in the Friendship Haven town homes let people see the area where these new homes will be built, allowing them to select their site as well as the home type. Visitors were moved from the Celebration Center at Friendship Haven to the site in a trolley drawn by two golden Belgians, with Merrils Petzenhauser, of Lake City, at the reins.

As the StoneBridge project got going, Tremain didn't want bulldozers crashing through the site, gouging out spaces for town homes to be built, so he called in landscape architects from Damon Farber Associates, of Minneapolis, Minn. A landscape artist and Tremain's associate, Terry Larkin, "spent days and days and days out there in the hot Iowa muggy summer standing in front of equipment trying to figure out the best approach to take to this land so not to spoil it," Tremain said.

"This had to be very hands on, these town homes nestled in the woods," he said. "I"m thrilled the organization was supportive of that. They recognized the beauty of the site, the uniqueness, the obligation to be stewards of the land."

Linda Lauver, marketing director at Friendship Haven, said there will be three styles of homes, each developed to fit among the trees.

"It's not urban," she said. "It's more like a country lane. Like in the north woods."

Friendship Haven President and CEO Wes Sperr said the StoneBridge development "will expand the choices of town house options" currently available to residents. "The project will be appealing to baby boomers looking into early retirement," but more, it will be good for the city of Fort Dodge.

"In adding to the number of town homes, we're attracting a cadre of seniors who move to Fort Dodge and choose to make it their residence. There's value, an economic impact, of attracting seniors to town."

Sperr cites statistics that show there is a $35,000 contribution to a local community for each household, "and if we have 33 new town homes, the math speaks for itself. Historically, seniors spend money in the town where they live."

Tremain said he's been working in Fort Dodge for so long - since 1999 - he deserves a 10-year pin. But he's proud to be part of StoneBridge at Friendship Haven.

"We thought we had a gorgeous piece of ground there," he said, "but we didn't know how gorgeous it was" until the sites were carved into the trees and a 1-acre area opened up for a park. "Some times they turn out even better than you imagine."

Contact Sandy Mickelson at (515) 573-2141 or smickelson@messengernews.net