Kaplan Senior Living is building on a 40-year legacy to acquire and turn around underperforming senior living communities.
Founder Glenn Kaplan launched Kapson Senior Quarters Corp in 1972, which eventually grew to oversee 27 senior living communities before it changed hands in the late 1990s.
Kaplan Development Group was founded in 2001. Thehe company built on the previous model by focusing on assisted living and a “companion suite model” that pairs residents together, according to Ben Wells, president at Kaplan Senior Living. The model centers on 112-unit communities set in 58,000 square feet buildings to keep costs lower for development, which is passed on to residents.
“We still are thriving with this model. We have 12 of them, and you know the portfolio is pretty much full for the most part,” Wells told Senior Housing News. “We have numerous success stories about … how it’s changed for a lot of people and opened their eyes to living with a roommate at an older age.”
Kaplan focused on growing through development from 2012 to 2024, but has put those plans on pause for the past two years due to higher construction costs making it hard for newprojects to pencil out. In recent years, the company’s leaders haveshifted back to acquisitions, most recently entering Maryland with the acquisition of The Cottages of Perry Hall. But that doesn’t mean development is totally off the table.
“We are hopeful to do development. It’s just got to pencil out in the right markets,” Wells said. “If there are people that want to partner with us to do development and operate, we are 100% interested.”
The Jericho, New York-based operator now operates in eight states with 17 properties and over 1,000 employees on staff. Across the portfolio, average occupancy is just over 90%, according to Wells.
For the communities it owns, Kaplan Senior Living is the acting operator as well, and is also looking at taking on third party management contracts to further its growth strategy. The East Coast is the primary growth region, according to Wells, due to having the most comfort in those markets over the years.
For the remainder of 2026 and going into early 2027, leaders at Kaplan Senior Living is looking to take on up to six management contracts while sourcing additional acquisitions that are able to be fixed and turned around in secondary markets, with a focus on middle market services.
“We’re not really looking to sell any assets. We’re looking to stay in this for the long term,” Wells said. “You don’t have to always hit home runs. Sometimes it’s fine hitting doubles and triples.”
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