Developer Takes Multi-Gen Approach to Senior Housing in China

China’s massive aging population and a new government policy are meshing well for one developer’s multi-general “mini-city” concept that looks to house 30,000 people of all ages, reports Quartz.

M Health China plans to build a mult-gen mini-city in the southwestern city of Chongqing, featuring 30-story high rise complexes designed with the elderly in mind.

That means the buildings will be designed with light rail access, shops, a hospital for the “very infirm,” as well as primary, middle and secondary schools for younger generations who live there. 

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The developer sees a huge business opportunity in the already 200 million elderly people in China and the anticipated 437 million people who will be over 60 years old by 2050.

Couple those swelling demographics with what the Chinese government is advocating as a “nine-seven-three” policy—where 90% of China’s elderly population cared for by adult children, 7% cared for by the state and 3% cared for by private health care business—and investors are sensing a “prime business opportunity,” writes Quartz.

“Every international private investor is salivating,” said M Health China CEO Pascal Scott in the article. “But an out-of-town development misses the point—it can be as luxurious as you want but no one will choose to live there if they can live comfortably with their family instead.”

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Developing the “mini-city,” Scott believes, will help solve this dilemma as the design intends to keep families together under close quarters. 

Other features of the development include adjoining doors between units for privacy and convenience, as well as shared kitchens.

“The point is that the family can see each other any time, cook and eat together—this is a crucial part of family life in China,” Scott said to Quartz. “Our thought is that if people don’t want to send their parents away, then we build a community the whole family can live in.”

Read the Quartz article

Written by Jason Oliva

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