By Jeff Shaw When Jeramy Ragsdale founded Thrive Senior Living in 2008, it was not his intent to challenge the industry to redefine itself. At the time, he was a residential home developer and knew that seniors housing was a niche property type for which he could find financing. He built his first assisted living and memory care community in the company’s hometown of Atlanta. He immediately fell in love with the business and its ability to positively impact people. By 2016, the company operated eight communities with another 12 …
Industry Voices
CEO of Hunt Real Estate Capital is tasked with consolidating Lancaster Pollard, RED Capital Group and Hunt into a lending powerhouse. By Matt Valley It may not be a household name just yet, but ORIX USA is certainly making its mark in the world of commercial real estate finance. In January, the U.S. and Latin America business hub for Tokyo-based ORIX Corp. completed its acquisition of New York City-based Hunt Real Estate Capital LLC. Simultaneously, ORIX USA announced that it would combine Hunt with its two ORIX Real Estate Capital …
With workforce expenses continuing to pose a challenge to operators, should investors lower ROI expectations? Tech softens the blow By Geert Houben Founder & CEO Cubigo It’s been well noted that 2020 is poised to be a year of disruption, holding true across many of the factors that go into seniors housing operations. Rising costs of living and growing competition must guide owners and investors to think innovatively. Leveraging technology to streamline operations can not only increase efficiency, but also decrease the number of work hours required. If stakeholders can …
Collaborations with builders and designers could help developers achieve profitability in this growing sector. By Drew Blaylock, Director of Preconstruction, ARCO Living Group As developers work to stay in front of the changing seniors housing market, the development of active adult rental communities continues to increase, but not without challenges. For seniors housing developers, there is a high amount of risk associated with creating a new product type that is similar to traditional seniors housing facilities but charges rent rates more in line with a standard multifamily product. There are …
Change your approach to resident engagement, as demands have shifted drastically. By Eric Eichhorst, Director of Sales and Marketing, Applewood Since I started my senior living career in 2004, resident interest drivers have changed and changed again, several times over. Every day, here in our metro New York City market, I talk with retirees and their families about what they are looking for in their next home that will meet their interests and needs. They are not looking for bingo or bocce or the next bus to Atlantic City. In …
Executive returns to her old position at a time of explosive growth for the owner-operator. By Jeff Shaw Tana Gall is returning to a familiar role at a familiar company. Gall took over the reins at Seattle-based owner-operator Merrill Gardens at the start of the year, replacing the retiring David Eskenazy. Strangely enough, one of Eskenazy’s predecessors was… Tana Gall. Gall served as president from 2013 to 2015, before leaving to pursue other job opportunities. This was during a period of major divestment for the company. Her second stint will …
Don’t let the small stuff damage your move-ins. (Editor’s Note: Bobby Towery passed away suddenly in October 2019 shortly after submitting this column. With ProMatura’s permission, we are publishing it in memoriam.) By Bobby Towery, ProMatura A few overgrown bushes here, a peeling paint job there — it’s easy to put off fixing a community’s little flaws, perhaps for so long you don’t notice them anymore. But for visitors evaluating your community, these details stand out like bright red flags. Little things cost sales. With occupancy rates for service-enriched housing …
United We Stand Owner-operator United Group of Companies finds success using its diverse real estate background and targeting middle-class seniors. By Jeff Shaw When real estate developer United Group entered the seniors housing sector in the late 1990s, it sensed a huge opportunity in the market: rental active adult properties for middle-income seniors were considerably underbuilt. United Group was founded in 1972 by Walter Uccellini in the small Upstate New York city of Troy. (The city’s population is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 50,000.) His son Michael …
What will be the biggest storyline in 2020? Is this our rebound year? By Aron Will Vice Chairman, National Senior Housing CBRE Capital Markets With construction waning and the culling of many non-strategic assets having taken place over the past two years, will 2020 truly be the rebound year that many are anticipating? Or will labor pressures and an underestimation of development velocity continue to push this rebound out to 2021 or 2022? This remains to be seen, but would be warmly received by equity analysts and industry investors alike, …
Considering interoperability can boost a facility’s bottom line. By Danielle Myers, general manager, Status Solutions Operating a senior living facility is a huge undertaking. The endeavor to improve residents’ quality of life, while also maintaining a work environment that keeps both staff and residents happy and safe each day, can be both stressful and costly. This burden can weigh down the whole community, which is why it’s important that senior living facility operators maximize all of their current investments. The majority of senior living facilities utilize a variety of technology …