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July 2017 — Health Care Properties Quarterly — Page 19
Senior Housing & Care
S O L D
HAYDE N B E HNKE
Senior Associate
PAM PYMS
Managing Director
BLUEPR I NT I S P L EASED TO ANNOUNCE
THE SAL E OF SHALOM V I L LAGE
104 Independent Living units on the campus
of Shalom Park, which will be renovated and converted
to an Active Adult Community.
PAME LA PYMS & HAYDEN BEHNKE WERE THE
L EAD ADV I SORS ON THE TRANSACT ION
OF F ICE
(303) 770-0755
A merican Family Financial
statistics show that nearly 40
percent of people today are
not saving or have saved too
little for retirement.The aver-
age American started his retirement
savings too late, those between ages
of 55 and 64 have acquired on average
$104,000 in retirement savings.This
equates to monthly investment income
of about $300 a month, according to
Investopedia.
What will the average American do
when they decide to retire?Today’s
senior independent living communi-
ties, especially those constructed dur-
ing the recent senior living construc-
tion boom, cater to the affluent, the
top 15 percent. As providers, we have
continued to create more elaborate
environments to meet higher market
expectations of higher income seniors.
We have focused on interior design,
which offers hotel-like appearances
and services, dining experiences that
feature multiple venues and made-to-
order, chef-prepared menu choices, bet-
ter health and wellness facilities, and
larger units. On the other end of the
income spectrum, government-based
assistance in the form of tax credits
and Medicaid provides for the bottom
20 percent of the market. So, how do
we provide for the middle market, the
nearly 65 percent of the middle-income
market, who have been denied access
to senior housing because they earn
either too little or too much for current
models of senior housing?While the
mixed-income approach to senior liv-
ing has had limited success, the issue
remains: How do we solve the middle-
income senior living market crisis?
How do we, as providers and design-
ers, address this issue to create a new
model for the largest
population in the
senior generations?
•Construction cost.
The cost of construc-
tion remains one of
the main influencers
in the price seniors
pay for their hous-
ing.These construc-
tion costs continue
to rise, nearly 4.5
percent per year for
the last four years,
according toTurner
Construction build-
ing cost index.The
cost of living contin-
ues to rise, yet the
income for a middle-income senior
cannot keep up.The delta between
high- and low-end senior living com-
munities contains only a 20 percent
construction cost variance between
them, based on a recent publication
byWeitz Construction.While reducing
construction cost is one answer, it does
not go far enough in creating senior
housing for the middle-income market,
but perhaps it is one of the ingredients
in the magic formula.
• Location, location, location. The cur-
rent and next generations want to be
centrally located and part of the action.
There are proven, positive effects for
seniors living near transit hubs. AARP
has promoted transit-oriented living
since 2012.With cities like Denver, Seat-
tle and Minneapolis developing their
transportation systems, population
and density continue to grow around
new transit hubs. Convenience to res-
taurants, medical services and other
community amenities could reduce the
need for providers to offer these servic-
es and thereby reduce the cost of living
in these senior communities. RoseVilla
in Portland, Oregon, has created its own
town concept, allowing both residents
and the outside community to coexist
on the same streetscape. Utilization of
the community infrastructure adds rev-
enue to the community and lowers the
cost to the senior residents.
• Tiny house. One significant way to
lower the cost of construction is to
build less square footage.The range
of independent living apartments in a
senior campus today averages around
1,200 square feet. Perhaps IKEA and
HGTV’sTiny House Nation have it
figured out – pack more function into
less space. Increased flexibility within
a unit, multiple functioning rooms or
efficiency-rated suites, ranging from
750 to 1,000 sf could net an average
of a 300-sf reduction per unit, thereby
allowing greater density within the
building, which would lower construc-
tion costs and monthly rents.
• App lifestyle. With so much technol-
ogy at our fingertips, one can rent a
house in the mountains for a weekend
or request a ride, anywhere. Compa-
nies like Blue Apron offer a perfectly
portioned and healthy meal delivered
to one’s door. One can have an unlim-
ited variety of goods delivered in less
than two hours (thank you Amazon
Prime Now!). Imagine the possibili-
ties, food service for an entire senior
community, allowing each to order all
of their meals from an app. As found
at some schools, local restaurants
and merchants can prepare meals in
the morning and deliver them on the
same day. Utilization of transportation
systems could reduce some overhead.
Buses, for example, could take large
groups of seniors shopping instead of
operators purchasing a community bus
and the cost of a full-time equivalent.
Building on the ideas of companies like
Uber, Air BNB, Blue Apron and Amazon
for a senior community, we can break
the standard models of service by out-
sourcing and connecting independent
living senior to the greater city. Upcom-
ing generations of seniors will be well
versed with this style of living. Fewer
full-time employees will be required
because of these outsourced services,
thereby lowering operational costs and
living expenses.
•Multigenerational experiences. Sur-
veys in America show each new gen-
eration of seniors has less desire to be
segregated. It is time to break down
generational barriers. Encouraging col-
lege students to live with independent
living residents allows them to share
in the costs of living and to take care
of some of the residents’ needs, such
as cooking, cleaning and transporta-
tion. Integration of adult daycare and
child daycare provides benefits to staff,
seniors and children who can be co-
engaged in daily activities. Can these be
programmed into senior living to lower
operational costs?
• The challenge. We in America are
the most creative, innovative and
entrepreneurial society on earth.When
there is a demand, our free enterprise
systemwill satisfy that demand. It
will only happen if we focus on the
enormity of the need, and invent new
environments and living solutions that
are responsive to retirement econom-
ics in America for all must
create newmodels for the middle-
market senior; newmodels that are
groundbreaking in all aspects of loca-
tion, building design, technology and
operations.s
Jeremy
Keimig, LEED
AP BD+C
Principal,
Lantz-Boggio
Architects &
Interior Designers,
Englewood