Baby Boomers are Going to Turn Assisted Living Model “On its Head”
It began in 2011, and it’s going to keep happening until 2030: 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65 each day, and those in the senior housing industry don’t think the “Greatest Generation” is going to enter quietly into accommodations that don’t meet their standards and expectations.
The Boomer generation has generally gone through life demanding that things be done their way—not the other way around—and this attitude will likely play a large role in the assisted living landscape in the coming years, according to senior living experts.
Today’s seniors aren’t really looking to downsize, and when they come to a senior community they want to bring their “stuff” with them and keep doing the activities they’re used to doing, says Manny Gonzalez, an architect with design firm KTGY Group, Inc., based in California.
“What we’re seeing in a lot of cases is that our clients are trying to bring designs into this next generation of architecture and planning where we don’t want our communities and our floor plans to look like the house Mom and Dad moved into, and certainly not the one we put Grandma into 25 years ago,” he says.
The baby boomer generation “has turned everything on its head that it has touched since the 1960s,” says Tom Grape, chairman and CEO of Benchmark Senior Living, and it “won’t be any different” for senior housing.
Many 50+ communities are now sporting a more “contemporary” design and feature modern furnishings and an extensive use of technology, Gonzalez told SHN.
“If you don’t have a place to have Wii fitness in your community, you’re missing the boat,” he says. “You don’t even need to have the personal trainer, you just turn on the game. Putting flexibility into communities and the amenities and allowing people to update things quickly is good.”
The architect also said that his firm is seeing a lot of clients who want to include activities residents used to have to leave behind, and he said they’re putting workshops and gardens into some of their communities.
More pets are being allowed in, too, with pet-washing and dog parks cropping up in rental communities.
Urban locations are becoming increasingly sought after, where amenities can be found alongside the site, as opposed to being located within the community itself.
“They’re used to having the services they want, when they want them… The voice of the customer has never been more powerful than it is today, and it will only grow,” Grape says. “In the future, boomers will want more services. [They're] going to want urban settings, mixed-use settings, so they can have a full array of choices.”
“People are being a little more particular about the sites they select, so that there are those sorts of opportunities for their residents,” Gonzales agrees.
While golf still important to some, other communities are being shaped around a more active lifestyle, with hiking trails or water sports, he adds. And despite 71% of middle-class baby boomers worrying they’ll outlive their money in retirement, according to a report from Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement, the “resort style of design” is gaining steam.
“The best developments tend to be contemporary [in style],” Gonzalez says. “There are places that look like you went to Cancun or Palm Springs or some really great recreation area… they’re being done well.”
As an architect, he says it’s exciting to try to anticipate trends and design with them in mind. Technology, in particular, is sure to continue to play a large role, and Gonzalez says it will be interesting to see how new technology will eventually work its way into the senior markets.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
Category: Architecture, Senior Housing
Baby boomers will not tolerate care in facilities rendered in the facility hair salon or conference room. Facilities will need to include multi care treatment rooms. This is the one amenity that raises the image of facilities by increasing access to care without transportation worries and it will become a marketing tool for facilities.
Excellent article and right on target. I worked in ALF sales for many years prior to retiring. My friends (and myself) will NOT go into an ALF as they are structured now because many are full of infirm people. If I had to make a move now I'd chose independent living facilities some of which now include ALF services. Major challenges lie ahead for ALFs to meet the needs, and wants, of baby boomers.
I too agree with Manny. Out firm is working to change the layout of our retirement communities by making them experience based, not amenity based. When I visit my Mom in her retirement community, I can't imagine ever living there myself. I think that we are all on the right track so let's keep pushing this information out. Developers want successful projects so change will need to happen.
This article is so on target. I've watched the population at the retirement facility where my mother-in-law lives grow older and older. Younger seniors are not moving in. The industry is going to need to totally reinvent itself to attract boomers.
How many people in Assisted Living have the ability to use walking trails, work shops or garden. They are in the facility because they cannot do those physical tasks anymore. This article is really talking more about Independent Living.
Boomers are not known for having put aside much savings for retirement. How will they be able to afford all of these amenities? They apparently have some concerns already as they are worried about outliving their financial resources.
Independent living does need to change to attract the younger generation. I am a boomer and would be interested in housing that provided maintenance but not all of the support services typically included in monthly fees. But it would be nice to have them on site when needed so an additional move would not be necessary. However, that creates a population of people aging in place well into their 909's which is a turn off for the younger retirees. It will be interesting to see what actually takes place when boomers start the move to retirement communities.
I agree with the focus of the article, but challenge broader thinking on the exercise piece. Boomers won't tolerate a wellness culture that points to Wii fitness and a few exercise classes to fulfill their exercise needs. They're used to WAY more than that, and communities would be wise to consider how they can allocate resources (sometimes that's $, sometimes it isn't) to creative wellness opportunities that engage their audience.
The company that delivers support services out of their assited living communities to the retiree's existing home to allow them to remain in their home until they absolutely have to move to an assited living community (or SNF) will find a very deep market. Retirees and their families will respond enthusiasticly. The challenge is formulating a package of serices that may be unbundled and delivered at a price retirees are willing to pay while providing a profit center for the AL community. It can be done if we get creative.
when you are 85 and can not function for ADLs you will not be a chooser… i think this hype will kill so many new comers to this industry… we love to buy these failed communities from significant discounts… we love fads…
especially after they lost 40% of their savings last 4 years… i hope baby boomers will not boom medicaid…
It has come a long way from the place that my grandmother had to live the last few years of her life. and thank God for that