The Community at Sunset Wood, a single-site nonprofit independent living community in upstate New York, is among the last of its kind.

The community, which has served older adults in the area since 1882 in one way or another, is one of the few, if not the last, community developed under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Retirement Services Center program that ran between 1983 and 1991, according to Sunset Wood CEO Dominick Manfredo.

Only about 180 of these communities were funded, and since 1991, the vast majority have closed, were converted or transitioned to other models, he said.

But understanding the community’s unique origin is central to its current mission. The HUD program was the agency’s “earliest attempts at aging in place and middle-market innovation, but the model proved difficult to sustain for many, especially after federal support faded,” Manfredo said.

Today, Sunset Wood is adapting and keeping those lessons in mind to meet changing regulations, new financial pressures, and a changing incoming resident base, many of whom belong to the middle-market demographic.

Manfredo sees the organization’s future rooted in wellness-based services and preventative health care to help more older adults age in place without breaking the bank.

Sunset Wood started as a 42-unit IL community with support services including dining, housekeeping and wellness programming. In 2002, the community added an additional 24 units. A decade later, the community underwent intensive renovations to meet current demand, according to Manfredo. In that time, the organization has seen struggles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.

“That survival story was really a lot of little decisions over time that led us up to this moment when we just renovated our units and added amenities,” Manfredo said. “It’s an almost 143-year-old story that got us here.”

As senior living operators push for new wellness and lifestyle-focused models, they are also seeking to improve care delivery and pivot to preventative health care through technology integration or expanding clinical models.

These shifting models represent the next evolution for Sunset Wood, and the community has built a lasting aging-in-place concept for older adults, Manfredo said.

“We’re changing to a more wellness-based model and surrounding the community with technology to help residents age in place,” Manfredo said. “Aging-in-place is the future and it’s not going to change the whole industry immediately, but over time, we’re going to see more people seeking out this model.”

For example, the community added a tech-enabled device that tracks muscle mass, body fat, metabolic rate and various biometrics to provide residents with data on their personal health. This helped residents get more engaged with their physical therapy or fitness routines, Manfredo said.

Sunset Wood also installed a new resident engagement software to better manage resident programming involvement and brought in a new dining program based on wellness principles of reducing inflammation through healthy eating, Manfredo noted.

Instead of focusing on following Blue Zone culinary concepts or following plant-based menus, Sunset Wood developed a dining program to support digestion, reduce chronic inflammation and improve energy through healthy fats, moderate protein sources, fresh vegetables and fewer processed carbohydrates, Manfredo said.

“This shift is especially important for our middle-market senior population, many of whom deal with arthritis, heart disease, or other conditions that benefit from a more intentional, whole-food-based diet,” Manfredo said.

Units are one-bedroom and start at $2,000 per month and cover dinner and bi-weekly housekeeping services, cable, internet and access to wellness programming. Larger units with granite and stainless steel appliances with those same amenities are $3,000 per month.

The community also added new and upgraded appliances, a rooftop patio, a therapeutic garden space and a new dining program to help improve the quality of life at the community. The organization also added a third-party physical therapy and occupational therapy company, along with a clinician on-site to add to the aging-in-place services for residents.

When thinking about future growth, Manfredo said the organization is in the midst of talks with various organizations for potential partnership opportunities to help serve more residents for supporting aging-in-place programming and services.

“When we look at the future of the middle market, it’s not going to be the square footage of the unit as much as it’s going to be on what is being offered around that,” Manfredo said. “It’s about the programs, the community and bringing fulfillment to people’s lives.”