What Baby Boomers Want (Options!), Senior Housing Delivers

The pandemic crushed the senior housing market, cutting occupancy rates and stalling construction. Now, as the market begins an uneven rebound, developers are adapting to the coming wave of aging baby boomers with a new crop of living developments.

Specialized housing for older Americans has been around for decades. But shifting demographics are forcing the industry to diversify more rapidly across rates and services, yielding increasingly lavish residences for upper-income Americans as well as a growing number of affordable housing models.

For example, Trillium, a high-rise under construction near Washington, features restaurants, a wellness spa, and other boutique-hotel-style amenities and finishes. And in the Boston area, Opus Newton, a more modest development, will rely on resident volunteers to help reduce costs.

Developers are also experimenting with nontraditional models. In Loveland, Colo., Kallimos Communities is planning a multigenerational development featuring 100 subsidized rental homes clustered around shared green spaces and offering dining, arts and wellness opportunities.

The aging of more and more baby boomers (an estimated 65 million in total) is creating “a big surge,” said Beth Mace, chief economist for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, a data service provider for the elder care industry.