Treplus Communities is expanding with a slate of new communities next year and plans to establish a foothold in a new state in 2026.
In 2024, Treplus opened one new community, bringing the organization’s overall portfolio to five communities. The company has one community that is “shovel-ready” with an anticipated groundbreaking later this year ahead of new development in 2025, according to CEO Jane Arthur Roslovic.
Next year, Roslovic told SHN the company has three active adult communities teed up for new development. That is up from recent years, when Treplus had slowed down its rate of new development due to high construction and debt costs.
“We’re feeling positive about 2025 but there are still some underlying headwinds we’re dealing with,” Roslovic said. “We’re just being cautious.”
In 2025, Roslovic said Treplus plans to spend more resources on its “always evolving” training program and retain community directors to make a positive impact in leasing velocity.
Development outlook ‘cautiously optimistic’
Senior living operators have in recent years pulled back development projects and mothballed projects until better economic conditions emerge. That’s created a supply and demand imbalance as new supply is dramatically outpaced by demand for senior living in general.
But active adult development has continued in recent years, with the sector experiencing a boom since the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) classified the sector in 2022.
Roslovic sees a future in which development in senior living will take longer to get from the drafting table to shovels in the ground, even as new supply remains muted and demand for the product is consistent.
“We’re so far behind now,” Roslovic said. “From single-family to multifamily to senior housing.”
She added that developers like Treplus have been frustrated with recent conditions as they’ve waited for them to change. In 2024, many companies are still waiting for the green light with regard to new development.
In the best of cases, Roslovic sees the senior living industry looking to build new projects in a two-year timeframe for new construction to emerge. That’s not to mention the municipal-level challenges operators and developers face in confronting misconceptions regarding senior living, and operators must do a better job of communicating and educating the general public on the benefits of the sector.
Financing for new projects remains “the biggest issue” facing developers in today’s economic climate, although the recent action by the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates is a welcome relief that could change the dynamics of the sector’s development pace.
“Our residents are very discerning and they know what they want and what they don’t want. They’re looking for service and concierge type of living and the other aspect is the camaraderie and socialization our residents desire,” Roslovic said. “Our residents will never go back to the market rate mutli-family after experiencing active adult.”
Defining, providing education on active adult key to lease-up success
Active adult companies resemble both traditional senior living and multifamily, though they are not fully either. That is why it’s important operators differentiate themselves from traditional rental housing and become more lifestyle-centric, age-restricted offering to older adults seeking to live among their peers, Roslovic added.
Treplus active adult communities range between 1,000 square-feet and 1,400 square-feet in single-story, cottage layouts. The company will continue this type of development in the future with attached garages and modern finishes, Roslovic said.
She added that two of the biggest challenges for active adult companies will remain lease-up velocity and the challenge of educating consumers on just what the product type is.
“We need brand awareness and asset class awareness,” Roslovic said. “That’s because people are looking to downsize, but people don’t know that this is an option.”
Active adult communities typically house older adults all experiencing similar life events, from downsizing a large family home to following adult children to be closer to grandkids.
But moving to a new state or city is a daunting task, and that’s where active adult can capitalize due to the sector’s ability to curate lifestyle offerings and create a sense of shared community, Roslovic added.
In 2026, Roslovic sees Treplus expanding out of its current state of operations in Ohio to another, yet-to-be-named Midwestern state. That avoids “oversaturated” active adult markets, Roslovic said, citing Dallas, Texas as an example, where supply has outpaced demand in some cases for active adult.
“We’re in markets that are underbuilt but that comes back to the awareness issue and making sure we’re letting people know what the product is,” Roslovic said. “Being a renter by choice I think is something more people are considering and that’s why I am so bullish on active adult.”