A Washington D.C. life plan community has a new CEO and a new mission to find the right mix of services and amenities to serve and attract the incoming baby boomer generation.
The community, Knollwood, recently named Gary Hibbs as CEO. He brings 30 years of senior living experience, having worked for nearly three decades with Erickson Senior Living, where he was most recently as the director of the nation’s largest life plan community, Riderwood.
Knollwood first opened in 1962, originally for U.S. military wives, before opening to the general public in 1987.
The community has changed a lot over the years, and fast-forward to today, it’s ready for another refresh, Hibbs said. Specifically, he is thinking about preparing for the next generation of residents, the baby boomers, who are thought to desire wellness and lifestyle options. To achieve that, the community envisions expanding lifestyle and programming options to attract future residents.
After having explored affiliation with a health system or larger senior living organization, Knollwood leadership have moved away from that idea completely to create their own pathway to capture future demand, Hibbs said.
Hibbs credited COO Remi Ackerman with inspiring Knollwood’s effort to modernize for the future of senior living.
“Remi really started the wheels turning in terms of comparing us to other communities and getting some operational soundness and efficiency, especially when your economies of scale are small,” Hibbs told SHN. “You really have to be running on all cylinders in every area of operations to make it work.”
What future changes the Knollwood team will ultimately undertake remains to be seen, and the community’s leadership is preparing a master planning effort to determine the future. The planning will include capital expenditures in the form of updating community infrastructure.
“We’re honoring the past and embracing the future because there’s such a rich history that we don’t want to lose, but we also know that we have to change. You can’t stay stagnant,” Hibbs added. “This is really about casting that vision and strengthening operations.”
Improvements to the community’s infrastructure would take top priority over “something new and shiny” like additional units, but Hibbs sees a future where Knollwood adds more independent living options.
“The momentum has already started, and we will look at adding more space and more apartments,” Hibbs added. “There are a number of possibilities that we could explore, and the initial momentum starts with that operational soundness before moving on to some capital projects.”
Hibbs said future changes to Knollwood would incorporate the organization’s lengthy history into new growth. For example, he mentioned that the community will use a fixture at the property, its Knoll House, in future planning.
He envisions opportunities for bringing in local community groups to Knollwood to improve resident programming. He also is tapping the knowledge of residents who held political positions in the U.S. federal government to spur community engagement and bring in those unfamiliar with Knollwood.
“I get excited about the uniqueness of this community,” Hibbs said. “You can’t replicate it.”
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