Editor’s Picks: Former Brookdale Leaders Start Senior Living Portfolio

As summer comes to an end and we begin to brace ourselves for a harsh Chicago winter, conference season is just heating up. This week, Senior Housing News readers heard from the 2016 National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Fall Conference on how assisted living and independent living communities are giving new residents steep discounts and how another real estate investment firm is taking on the senior living industry.

Here in the newsroom, we are commending a 97-year-old Michigan woman who finally got her diploma after dropping out of high school in 1936.

Week in Review

This week, real estate investment trusts (REITs) officially gained their own category on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). The sector’s recognition could bring in new attention, and with it, up to $100 billion in potential new investments.

Most Read

Former Brookdale Leaders Jointly Acquire Senior Living Portfolio—Two former Brookdale Senior Living leaders teamed up and have acquired a $180 million portfolio of independent living properties. Former co-president and COO of Brookdale John Rijos and former Brookdale board member Bill Doniger worked with Grace Management, based in Minneapolis on the deal. The portfolio will consist of four communities in locations across the country such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Steeling Heights, Michigan.

Developer Blends Talent, Tech to Build Senior Living Brand—Chicago-based CA Ventures recently opened a new division to take on the senior living market. The division, CA Senior, includes a 14-property portfolio that will be managed by Senior Lifestyle. CA Senior is extremely new to the market, but is recruiting some of its development talent to bring the success they’ve seen in their other divisions to CA Senior. The division is even relying on drones to looks at its projects from above with the goal of being able to monitor how construction is going on buildings.

NIC Data Reveals Actual Senior Living Discounts, Pricing—At the NIC Fall Conference this week, the market research arm of NIC revealed data that showed assisted living and independent living communities are getting a lot less than what they’re asking for when it comes to new residents. Though, in both types of communities, the three-month average initial and asking rates went up, which may be an explanation as to why communities are giving steep discounts to new residents.

Around the Web

31M Americans at Greater Risk of Chronic Disease Due to Physical Inactivity —The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed some disturbing news this week in its Morbidity and Morality Weekly Report. The report found that about one in four Americans ages 50 and older don’t exercise regularly, which puts them at a greater risk for heart disease and cancer, Fox News reports. The South part of the country was found to be the least active at 30,1% and the Midwest came in second at 28.4% inactive.

Researchers Confront an Epidemic of Loneliness — In Britain, loneliness among seniors is increasingly being viewed as a serious public health issue that deserve public funds and national attention. In both Britain and the United States about one in three people over 65 live alone and in the U.S. half of those older than 85 live alone, according to the New York Times.

97-Year-Old Michigan Woman Finally Gets Her High School Diploma —Margaret Thome Bekema finally received her high school diploma after dropping out of high school as a sophomore in 1936 to take care of her mother who was battling cancer.

Written by Alana Stramowski