By Jane Adler
Special to the Tribune

        Even as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case on whether people with disabilities can sue states for failing to make public buildings accessible, the overall trend toward increased accessibility is gradually gaining acceptance among home builders.
        And that's good news for seniors.
        Not too surprisingly, developers that build houses just for seniors are leading the way on accessibility. These projects often include elder-friendly features such as no-step entries, single-level designs, big bathrooms and wide hallways. After all, many older people have trouble with stairs. Seniors might also eventually need a walker or wheelchair that requires extra room to maneuver.
       "Senior housing [builders] are comfortable with the idea" of accessibility, said Louis Tenenbaum, a consultant in Potomac, Md., who works with builders on accessibility issues.
       Take, for example, the new Skokie Gardens Condominiums project under way in Skokie at 8828 Niles Center Rd. Each of the building's 70 units has wide hallways and doorways. There is no step down to the outside balconies.
       "We asked the architect to design the building so it is more easily accessible," said Abdul Matin, president at Skokie-based Fortune Group LLC, the building's developer. "Older people have requirements, and you have to keep that in mind." The building isn't only for seniors, Matin adds, but he expects most of the buyers to be older people from the area.
       Accessibility features were planned into the duplex and fourplex units at the new Chatham Grove development in Aurora. The project, at 1620 S. Farnsworth Ave., will have 99 units. Residents must be at least 55 years old.
       Among features that make the units more accessible: Hallways are 48 inches wide, rather than the standard 42 inches; interior doors are 3 feet wide; doorknobs were scrapped for levers; and there are no front stoops with stairs.
       "This is the first community we have built that has these kinds of features in every unit," said Jean Neumann, chief marketing officer at Neumann Homes Inc., Warrenville. "We do not use these features in our other projects."
       Builders face a maze of regulations and laws on accessibility. Federal law says the common areas of a building must be accessible. Other federal rules as well as state and local laws dictate accessibility requirements for individual units. But the rules generally don't apply to townhouses or single-family homes, though that's changing too.
       So, seniors looking for a place with accessible-type features encounter a hodge-podge of arrangements. Some buildings have a certain percentage of accessible units. Many buildings have units that are called adaptable, meaning they can be converted into accessible units. For example, an adaptable unit might have a under-sink cabinet that can be removed easily to make space for a wheelchair.
       All of the units at Skokie Gardens are adaptable, but 20 percent of the units are accessible. These units will have low countertops and room for wheelchairs under sinks.
       Chicago developer Belgravia Group Ltd. is making some of its new town homes adaptable. At its Kensington Park project at 18th Street and Indiana Avenue, four of the 45 units are being built with space where an elevator can be added. "If you plan ahead, it's not that hard to do," said Belgravia President Alan D. Lev.
       Lev was on the committee that helped draft a new Chicago ordinance that requires single-family homes and townhouses in big planned developments to build 10 percent of their units adaptable. The ordinance, which will take effect July 1, also requires 10 percent of the units to be "visitable," which generally means they will have no-step entries and a ground-floor bathroom.
       A number of cities are adopting visitability codes, though the requirements of local laws vary. Naperville has one of the few laws in the nation that requires visitability features in all new single-family homes. Also, U.S. Rep. Jan Shakowsky (D-Ill.) has introduced federal legislation, the Inclusive Home Design Act, that would require homes built with government money to have accessible features.
       Developer Lev thinks it's smart business to make all kinds of homes more accessible. "It's the wave of the future," he said. "I think there's a market for my town homes among empty-nesters, someone who wants to buy a house and stay there but who may not be able to do the stairs some day."
       But builders disagree on whether good accessible designs make for good marketing. They say home buyers, even older ones, don't want to be reminded that they may some day need a wheelchair or walker.
       "Builders are scratching their heads wondering how they can tell buyers they might become frail and need an accessible house," consultant Tenenbaum said.
       Developer Matin soft pedals accessibility features to buyers. If he markets the units as accessible, he thinks younger buyers might be scared away. Matin says many seniors don't particularly like being told the units are handicap-accessible or even easily adapted for someone with physical limitations.
       "Other than a few differences in the cabinets, no one would notice a difference in the accessible units," he said. "But [buyers] say they want a normal unit. They do not want to be stigmatized."