Five new senior living communities planned for the Colorado Springs region—and a recently-opened sixth community—signal a impending development boom following a recession-induced new construction freeze.
The city’s inventory of assisted living units will increase by more than 25%, according to an article in The Gazette about the senior living projects, and the developments are mostly targeting affluent private-pay residents.
With all the planned communities, existing communities’ occupancy rates may take a hit after rising to 91.2% by mid-2011 following a low of 73.4% two years previously, according to cited data from the National Investment Center (NIC) for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry.
Considering the number of baby boomers approaching the age that will require long-term care, the city of Colorado Springs is jumping at the chance to fulfill the needs of this sizable demographic.
“These new properties represent a pretty large increase in inventory and will put downward pressure on occupancy rates in all properties as they open, but the industry has shown the ability to recover fairly quickly,” said Chris McGraw, senior research analyst with NIC, is quoted as saying.
Coinciding with the anticipated demand as a result of the baby boomer generation, the number of memory care facilities are also expected to increase nationwide.
“When you look at the dementia or memory care market, there is a need for that everywhere in the country,” said Dave Daumit, founder and CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based New Dawn Memory Care, in the article.
Daumit’s company is planning a 48-unit memory care center in the Briargate area of Colorado. With more financing available today than has been since the 2008 financial crisis, projects are now ready to get underway. Additionally, the improving real estate market is paving the way for seniors to sell their homes before moving into long-term care communities.
“There is a bit of pent-up demand because construction in this industry stopped for three years,” Elisabeth Borden, principal of The Highland Group, told The Gazette. “As the market has returned, there is more interest in assisted living and memory care than other types of senior housing because they are more need-based.”
Read the full article from The Gazette here.
Written by Jason Oliva
