Discovery Senior Living Realigns Long-Standing Discovery Village Portfolio to Deepen Experiential Living Focus

Discovery Senior Living has begun a strategic realignment of its Discovery Village brand portfolio and tapped Cindy Crowley as its second-ever national brand manager.

Though the entire Discovery Village portfolio includes 17 communities in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Texas, the move will initially affect four flagship Discovery Village communities in Boynton Beach, Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota/Bradenton, FL. 

Under the new realignment plan, Crowley is overseeing the four communities, three of which have dedicated independent living communities with separate assisted living and memory care buildings on shared campuses. The communities are also unique in that they represent the first manifestations of Bonita Springs, Florida-based Discovery’s “experiential living” concept.

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The move is aimed at organizing the Discovery Village portfolio into smaller, more manageable groups so that Discovery can have more control and visibility over the communities, which warrant close management and focus given their importance to the company’s new concept.

Crowley, who previously worked at Discovery as regional director of sales, is tasked with supporting the communities from both an operations and sales perspective.

“It will allow us to be very strategic about communities that might be in different markets, provide strategic oversight, and look at similar issues — challenges or opportunities — that they are facing together,” Crowley told Senior Housing News.

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For example, the move will help Discovery learn best practices and implement regional strategies.

“If something works in one market, we can certainly try one another,” Crowley said.

She added that being based reasonably close to each community she oversees allows her to physically visit them, allowing for a hands-on approach to management.

“We get to understand the markets that the communities are operating in,” said Crowley. “We know what the market looks like from a lead-generation standpoint… and we get very familiar with our competition.”

The move could be the first in a series of similar groupings within the Discovery Village portfolio, according to Discovery Senior Living COO Bill Sciortino.

“Today marks an important step … as we move to segment the larger Discovery Village portfolio into manageable groups in accordance with their size and available living options,” he noted in a press release.

Crowley is the second national brand manager in the company. The first national brand manager, Nicole Gasaway, oversees Discovery Select brand, higher-end communities located in primary Texas markets including Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.

Discovery Senior Living currently owns and operates a senior living portfolio of 110 communities in 16 states. There are a number of companies and brands within the Discovery umbrella, including Discovery Management Group, Morada Senior Living and TerraBella Senior Living.

The company has grown quickly in the past year through acquisitions, and in recent months has deepened its multi-brand strategy with the formation of a new management company along with two new regional brands.

And last year in October, the company launched a new a la carte services and dining program for independent living residents called FlexChoice.

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