Former Anthology Leaders Launch New Operator Evolve Senior Living 

Two former Anthology Senior Living leaders have announced the launch of a new operator and asset management platform known as Evolve Senior Living.

The new operator, Evolve Senior Living is the brainchild of Justin Dickinson and Andrew Agins, two industry veterans who bring a wealth of senior living experience to the new venture. The company is initially focusing on growing in the Midwest.

Dickinson previously worked as president of Anthology Senior Living, the operating arm of developer CA Ventures, until June of this year. He also was executive vice president at Pathway to Living in 2021 until the company’s owner, Waterton, decided to get out of the senior housing management business. Agins led the investments platform for Anthology Senior Living.

In the last 90 days, the pair have prepared to establish their new operating and asset management platform, Agins told SHN, adding that the company was “now ready to operate.”  The operator is currently seeking its first management agreements. 

“We are focused on bridging the gap between owners and operators of seniors housing,” Agins told SHN via email.

To get thereEvolve will as part of its asset management structure offer data aggregation and visualization known as “Evolve Intelligence.”. The platform will provide staff on the ground, corporate support and owners with “in-depth analysis and strategies to best position our communities in the market,” Agins wrote to SHN.

“We’re going to offer key insights into every part of the business, from revenue optimization, expense management, labor management, clinical indicators and more,” Agins said via email. “We also will be able to provide these key performance indicators in real time as opposed to 30 days after the end of the month when financials are often presented.”

The company’s website lists its core values — integrity, accountability, innovation and enjoyment — with the “intention to remove the wall that separates real estate owners and property managers” while seeking institutional grade and private pay IL, AL and memory care communities in the Midwest.

“We’ve pinpointed the Midwest as the focus…we also understand the Midwest has been disproportionately impacted by the stress of the current capital markets,” Agins said. “This stress includes slower rent growth, higher cap rates, and a more limited availability of debt. We are not scared by this dynamic, in fact, we see it as an opportunity to add real value to our owners.”

Agins noted the pair’s past experience as one way to differentiate the new operator from the rest of the field, while embodying a “responsible and measured growth” trajectory.

Evolve additionally looks to help change the relationship between owners and operators to help “educate owners on how operating decisions impact the investment,” Agins added. With its proprietary business insights data tool, Agins noted that Evolve will look to bring insights to their ownership groups that he said are unavailable currently in the marketplace.

Once operations are underway, Agins stressed that Evolve would look to focus on preventing high rates of resident and staff turnover, two areas that can quickly destabilize a community’s bottom line.

While Agins called this year a period of consolidation among management platforms, he said that progression is sending the industry towards larger, national operators. As inflation remains high, Agins said that he believes real estate values will decrease as interest rates remain elevated in today’s economic climate.

“We do not believe this is the direction that owners want to go,” Agins said. “This is one of the main drivers for us to enter the space in the current environment.” 

The launch of Evolve comes after Dickinson’s departure from Anthology in June. Anthology parent company CA Ventures has run into turbulent waters as of late due to financial trouble. Anthology Senior Living operates 46 communities in 16 states, and announced six development projects last year.