There Goes The Neighborhood

Trying to keep gay senior-citizen condos from becoming too straight:

"It does not matter how friendly they are," said Roger Bergstrom, 77, who shares a condo at RainbowVision with his longtime partner, Barry Baltzley, 57.

Bergstrom spent nearly 30 years as a high school English and speech teacher in the Washington area. During that time, he had to be closeted at work.

For the last chapter of his life, Bergstrom wants to live in a community where gay people rule.

"If straight people are in the majority, it's different. It's not what we came here for," he said. "It's not where we want to live out the rest of our lives."

It's easy to see why seniors of any orientation would be attracted to the 120-unit development, which includes a mixture of condos and rental units plus an assisted-living facility.

The 13-acre community, with views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, features two- and three-story earth-tone buildings, carefully decorated public spaces, a restaurant that prides itself on not serving bland fare and a gym that would turn heads in West Hollywood. Dance parties and other events -- many of which are open to outsiders -- are often booked at the lounge and bar.

RainbowVision isn't the only such refuge for the aging gay set. In Oakland, the historic Lake Merritt Hotel has been transformed into Barbary Lane Communities, endorsed by gay icon Armistead Maupin. Other developments are planned for Palm Springs and Vancouver, Canada.

RainbowVision has been promoted almost exclusively to the gay community. Brochures and the website highlight photos of same-sex couples. The project's name evokes the rainbow that the gay community has adopted as its symbol.

About 80% of the complex's residents are gay, management said. But there is potential for a radical shift because nearly half of the units are unoccupied or for sale.

New Mexico bars housing discrimination because of sexual orientation. And condo owners, looking to unload their properties in a slow real estate market, are free to sell to whomever they choose.

Not that there's anything wrong with straight people, in moderation.

"This is a place where you don't have to find out if someone is gay," said Joy Silver, founder and chief executive of RainbowVision Properties Inc. "You have to find out if someone is straight."