The pandemic crushed the senior housing market, reduced market share and stagnated construction. Now, as the market begins to rebound unevenly, developers are adapting to the next wave of aging baby boomers with new life development crops.
Specialty homes for older Americans have been around for decades. However, demographic changes have forced the industry to diversify more rapidly in terms of prices and services as a whole, creating more and more luxury homes for high-income Americans and increasing affordable housing models. I am.
For example, Trillium, a skyscraper under construction near Washington, features restaurants, wellness spas, and other boutique hotel-style facilities and finishes. Also, in the Boston area, a more modest development, Opus Newton, relies on resident volunteers to help reduce costs.
Developers are also experimenting with non-traditional models. The Calimos Community in Loveland, Colorado is planning a multi-generational development that offers dining, arts, and wellness opportunities, featuring 100 subsidized rental housing gathered around a shared green area.
Beth Mace, Chief Economist at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, a data service provider in the elderly care industry, said: ..
Other changes are housing restructuring, from pandemic-fueled safety concerns and labor shortages to the tendency to prefer more personalized community-based solutions. Housing for older Americans offers three common options. Independent living, active lifestyle. Life support including some medical care; and memory care. (Nursing homes provide long-term care and are not usually in the senior housing category.)
“Everyone is trying to understand the secret source — what do senior home consumers want?” Mace said. “Conclusion: You will see many options.”
Developers rely on the fact that if they build enough diversity, they can attract the next generation of older Americans.
“We need to design a community that caters to what the baby boomer generation wants. This is the difference between today’s senior homes and homes that were developed 10 or 20 years ago,” said developer Silverstone Senior Living. Bobby Seiler, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, said. Trillium.
Zeiller said Silverstone has expanded into the urban environment after focusing on the suburban senior community. The industry is “evolving very rapidly,” he said.
According to Mace, the average occupancy of the 31 largest senior housing markets in the United States rose from 78% in the first quarter of 2021 to 81% in the first quarter of 2022, but the 2020 pandemic. It was below the previous level of 87%. ..
According to data from the National Investment Center, numbers are starting to skyrocket in some markets. In Miami, for example, construction as an inventory share in the first quarter of 2022 reached 11%, the second highest level in history. But at the other end of the spectrum is Sacramento, where construction has dropped from 17% in 2019 to about 1%.
Even before the pandemic, only about 11 percent of Americans over the age of 75 lived in senior housing. A strong preference for aging in the right place is one of the reasons for the low rate.
The high cost of housing is another factor, especially for 8 million middle-income Americans who are not eligible for subsidies but cannot afford to pay at their own expense. The national median livelihood support was $ 4,300 in 2021. Investigation According to insurance holding company Genworth. According to the National Investment Center, the average monthly cost of memory care is $ 7,277.
The developers of luxury projects are betting on larger units, sophisticated designs and amenities, and increased attention to social involvement and active living.
Opened in April in San Francisco, the 208-unit development of Cotelli Cathedral Hill features 5 restaurants, an outdoor pool, a beautiful courtyard and terrace. Wellness staff are trained through the Mayo Clinic, and onsite care coordinators help residents achieve a wide range of mental, emotional, and physical health goals, including support for social and philanthropic purposes. To do.
Coterie is a joint venture between an affiliate of a real estate development company and Atria Senior Living, one of the largest senior living providers in the United States. Focusing on wealthy urban dwellers in pursuit of. Joanna Mansfield, General Manager of Cotelli Hudson Yard, said it is the second development to open in New York this fall.
At Cotelli Cathedral Hill, monthly rents range from $ 7,900 for studios to over $ 16,660 for two-bedroom homes.
A new succession of frugal business models focuses on middle-income Americans. Opus Newton, for example, requires residents to volunteer 10 hours a week, “significantly reducing staff costs,” while providing a stronger sense of purpose and community. I’m developing a project.
Other cost savings include outsourcing care and offering discounted memberships at nearby Jewish community centers, eliminating the need for in-house recreational facilities.
Shectmann showed confidence in the future of collective elderly life, despite prolonged pandemic concerns.
“The coronavirus has revealed a pandemic of loneliness and isolation,” she said. “Aging in the right place is harmful to society by presenting the choice of living with others as a failure. We are creatures of the community.”
The initial cost of Opus Newton’s 174 units starts at $ 391,000. This is the fee many residents pay for selling their home.
Fee Stubblefield, CEO of The Springs Living, a developer in Portland, Oregon, says diverting existing buildings is the key to solving middle-market challenges.
Two luxury skyscrapers are under construction in Springs Living, one on the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. The property includes a firewall to block the floor in the event of an illness and is certified to meet new health and wellness. Design and operational standards.
Starting rents for new buildings range from $ 3,700 to $ 10,000 per month.
According to Stubblefield, there are two types of elderly housing residents: those who want to live there and those who must. He said it was “most of our society” that wanted the lives of the elderly. “The elements of society and wellness are not well built for their population.”
Labor shortages add to the financial challenges faced by developers of elderly housing. Employment in long-term care decreased by 6.7% from February 2020 to December 2021. Recent analysis Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Workforce stability is the most important factor in the future of housing and services for the elderly,” said Stubblefield, who is obliged to create a career path for entry-level staff to support the industry. I added that there is.
Bill Thomas, co-founder of Kallimos Communitys, offers alternative solutions to a variety of challenges related to the future of aging and retirement in the United States. “The best thing you can have to help you become self-reliant is to criticize your good neighbors,” he said.
The first Calimos community in partnership with the Labrand Housing Corporation is rooted in the idea that homes designed for seniors living in community-oriented mixed-age neighborhoods can help older Americans.
“Young people and elders have lived together and supported each other for thousands of years,” said Thomas. “The idea that we got lost in the dead end of history is wrong with the idea that young people see no benefit in being around older people.”
