Chuck Sudo

With an occupancy recovery underway and the prospect of favorable demographics around the corner, Atria Senior Living CEO John Moore believes that now is the time to evolve senior living offerings and build for the future — despite a challenging operating environment and some development headwinds.

Many senior living providers have been pivoting to wellness in their operational models, and memory care is no exception. But given the particular needs of memory care residents, fostering a wellness-first approach is not easy. Bringing wellness into memory care involves engaging multiple stakeholders, specific training, transforming physical spaces, and integrating technology.

Senior living owners, developers, and operators have found success in recent years repurposing a variety of seemingly obsolete buildings into senior housing, from schools to shopping malls to traditional apartments. Now, adaptive reuse is gaining even more momentum as a senior living development route. Developers are seeking out adaptive reuse opportunities as construction materials and labor costs continue to climb, and global supply chains remain disrupted by Covid-19.