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March 18-March 31, 2015 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — Page 3B
A s the economy began
to emerge from the
Great Recession in
2011, Colorado’s Front Range
became one of the nation’s
hottest markets for senior
housing and care developers,
which kicked into high gear.
Driven by low interest rates,
plenty of investment capital,
reasonable construction
pricing and a conviction that
the baby boomer generation
would drive high demand,
2012 through 2015 has seen
more than 5,000 new units
open, and nearly 2,000 more
currently under construction.
The tide slowed in the past
year, and many are wondering
if we have already reached a
saturation point for new senior
housing and care. Many of the
developers who were front-
runners are now completing
the last of their new buildings
in Colorado – for now. The
remainder of this article will
first look at what is being
developed, where and by
whom, and then will look at
where remaining development
opportunities exist.
Colorado-based companies
have driven much of the
development since 2012.
Some are larger, with several
properties recently opened,
under construction or
planned, both in Colorado
and other states. These
include MorningStar Senior
Living, Spectrum Retirement
Communities, Christian Living
Communities, Balfour Senior
Living, Veritas Management
and Columbine Health
Systems. Newer Colorado-
based entrants or those with a
single property are busy as well,
with openings or construction
underway in the 2012-2016
period. Firms such as Rosemark
Development, Wazee Partners,
Zócalo Development, Frasier
Meadows, McBroom Co., Macy
Development, Glen Cos. and
Mid-States Senior Living make
up this category. The vast
majority of new development
by these companies is assisted
living and memory care, along
with some independent living,
skilled nursing and market-
rate age-qualified apartments.
Development is spread from
Fort Collins to Colorado
Springs, but is unevenly
concentrated in certain areas –
more on that later.
Developers from other states
also are active in Colorado.
Brookdale Senior Living
(Tennessee) has been busy
adding memory care units
to several of its properties.
Erickson Living (Maryland) is
adding three new independent
living buildings in its Wind
Crest community. However,
Oregonians are delivering
the largest number of units,
from metro Denver down
to Pueblo. Anthem Memory
Care, in partnership with LTC
Properties Inc., opened four
memory care buildings in
the Denver metro area, and
Bonaventure Senior Living
opened two continuing care
communities, one in Castle
Rock and one in Colorado
Springs, and has others
planned in Denver and
Pueblo. Active firms based
in other states include New
Dawn Memory Care (Arizona),
Mainstreet Capital (Indiana),
Advanced Healthcare Corp.
(Idaho), JEA Senior Living
(Washington), Legend Senior
Living (Kansas), Horizon
Development (Wisconsin),
Choice Capital (Oklahoma)
and Signature Senior Living
(California).
The affordable senior
housing development
community is extremely busy
as well, with 11 new senior
apartment properties that
either opened or are set
to open in 2014 and 2015.
Affordable senior housing
properties primarily are made
possible using low-income
housing tax credits through the
Colorado Housing and Finance
Elisabeth Borden
Principal, The Highland Group,
Boulder
Designing Healthy Communities
Welcome to the
design team.
Contact: Nabil Abou-Haidar, AIA
Senior Living Practice Leader
303.861.1600
ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR DESIGN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE URBAN PLANNING
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This map indicates senior housing projects currently under construction.