living communities in China now, but most are not
of great quality and are targeting lower-income
seniors. We don’t have a national brand offering
high-quality senior living services,” says Mr. Wang.
“If a company has an active positioning of a housing
project in the right location near a city center, it can
be very successful.”
NEW VISIONS
Many construction companies with large senior
living portfolios are re-envisioning the retirement
home of the past to meet a surge in demand for
facilities that offer a higher quality of life, says Bruce
Douglas, PMP, project manager at The Douglas Co.,
Toledo, Ohio, USA.
“There’s tremendous competition coming from
that shiny new assisted-living facility down the
street—which looks like a resort—and that’s driving
a lot of remodeling projects right now,” he says. “A
lot of older buildings are becoming obsolete and need
to compete with those newer, high-end facilities.”
Mr. Douglas says new facilities often include high-level finishes, such as
crown molding and granite countertops, and high-tech capabilities, including
video-chat-enabled TVs. Seniors are also looking for all-inclusive retirement
communities that offer easy access to amenities like small grocery stores, coffee
and wine bars, movie theaters and fitness centers.
To keep costs down while increasing services, developers are trending toward
remodeling projects rather than ground-up construction. In China, Mr. Wang
estimates that more than half of new senior-living projects will be generated by
retrofits of hotels, restaurants and warehouses. “The real estate market in China
is diversifying rapidly,” he says. “Developers are looking to urban areas where
prices are heading up and there are hospitals or [family] attractions, like theme
parks, nearby. Investors are visiting places like the U.S., Europe, Australia and
Japan for insights on how to develop the best model.”
These visits have emphasized the importance of addressing consumer
demands, which often revolve around aging-in-place, Mr. Wang says. In Can-
ada, for instance, two development companies—Le Groupe Maurice and Réseau
Sélection—plan to spend CA$3 billion over the next five to six years on 47 new
By 2050, Japan
is projected to
have 72 seniors
for every 100
younger adults.
Seniors relax at Brighton
Pier in Brighton, England.
