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FeaturesGeorgiaMultifamilySeniors HousingSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Developers Can Cut Costs by Eliminating ‘Wasted Space’

by Kristin Harlow

ATLANTA — In today’s high-cost environment where obtaining development financing remains tricky, seniors housing builders are focused on cutting expenses — whether it be shrinking spaces or eliminating underutilized amenities altogether. That was the major takeaway from the development panel at the 12th annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference, which took place at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 27. The panel, which was titled “When Will Development Rebound? Outlook & Strategies for 2026,” included Richard Ackerman, managing partner of Big Rock Partners; Joe Jasmon, CEO of American Healthcare Management Group; Tod Petty, chief investment officer of Mainstay Senior Living; Leland Rice, president of QSL Management; Bear Mahon, president and CEO of Oaks Senior Living; and Alan Moise, chief investment officer of Thrive Senior Living. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Moise, the panel’s moderator, kicked off the discussion by asking participants for their definition of “rebound.” For Rice, the answer was a return to a mature market with stabilized assets selling at full price. “For a long time, we had seen …

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InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Design Blends Hospitality, Technology for Next Generation of Residents

by Abby Cox

ATLANTA — As the demand for “age appropriate” living solutions continues to rise, seniors housing real estate is evolving rapidly. Modern developments are moving beyond the scope of previous institutional models that are stuck in the past and accelerating forward into physical environments that promote dignity, independence and community for the next generation of residents. The new wave of seniors housing residents are individuals who often have different expectations, lifestyles and needs compared to previous generations when it comes to their housing options. Whether it is a tech-savvy grandmother or a health-conscious grandfather, each generation of seniors finds aspects of life that they value more than their predecessors. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Health and wellness is an especially important component of seniors housing developments coming on line, as today’s older adults are living longer, staying more active and placing significance on quality of life. Connie Wittich, founding principal and CEO of Metropolitan Studio, highlighted that people want to live in beautiful places that focus on mental health and wellness, specifically. “We receive a lot of …

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Urban Reclamation: How Activating Areas Under Highways Can Redefine Public Spaces

by Taylor Williams

By Ben Donsky, principal at Agora Partners Urban areas across the United States are increasingly facing the legacy of the physical and social divides created by existing highway infrastructure. For decades, elevated interstates have carved neighborhoods in half, often cleaving downtowns from their surrounding communities and draining the activity of urban cores. As cities experiment with ways to repair these divides and invite pedestrians back into the heart of civic centers, a new frontier in urban development is gaining momentum: the activation of under-highway spaces. We’ve seen how high-profile deck parks like Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, which this writer helped bring to life through thoughtful programming and activation, have captured the public imagination and inspired proposals like Atlanta’s HUB 404. But these initiatives can be ambitious undertakings that can require significant investment from both the public and private sectors, as well as long-term planning, to come to fruition. That can be especially challenging in today’s funding-constrained times. Confronting this reality, municipal leaders and city planners have started to recognize that the spaces beneath highways — formerly dismissed as trash-strewn, uninhabitable voids within cities — hold immense potential for fostering connectivity, establishing equity and increasing economic prosperity. At Agora Partners, …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesGeorgiaSeniors HousingSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

InterFace Panelists Expect Imminent Spike in Demand for Seniors Housing

by John Nelson

ATLANTA — The seniors housing sector stands at a “curious” crossroads in terms of the current real estate cycle, according to Chris Guay, CEO of Vitality Living. The Brentwood, Tenn.-based company is a seniors housing owner-operator with communities located across the Southeast and Texas. Guay asserts that on one hand, seniors housing owners and operators are still healing from the supply-and-demand shocks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other, the sector is standing on the precipice of the prophesied “silver tsunami,” a phenomenon wherein the baby boomer generation is aging into needing senior living care. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. The oldest baby boomers are now turning 80, and Guay says that even if developers met the output of the highest point of the previous cycle annually, it still wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the wave of demand coming. “The silver tsunami is actually here,” says Guay. “Right now is probably the most interesting time in the industry that I can remember.” Guay’s comments came during the “power panel” at InterFace Seniors …

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InterFace Panel Explains How Data Drives Seniors Housing Sales, Marketing

by Taylor Williams

By Lynn Peisner ATLANTA — How are today’s seniors housing operators using data to drive sales and increase occupancy? This was the question posed to a panel of experts speaking at the 12th annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference, held at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead area on Aug. 27. Data can paint a big picture, depicting the true nature of demand in a market. “We like to think of it as a novel,” said Nick Jasmon, vice president of business development for American Healthcare Management Group. “What’s happening in your buildings is the main story, and the data is the prequel.” Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Data on length of stay, move-in/move-out patterns and acuity changes can help forecast occupancy levels more accurately. For example, Jasmon noted that data can show how move-in ages are changing over time. “We’re seeing that our independent living (IL) residents are getting older,” he said. “Some of our IL residents are in their 80s. When we talk to them about moving to assisted [living], they reply, ‘no, that’s …

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Seniors Housing Lenders Welcome Return of Stability to Capital Markets After Three Years of Volatility, Says InterFace Panel

by Taylor Williams

By Matt Valley ATLANTA — In an unsettled world, the capital markets have ironically proven to be relatively stable this year. That’s helped pave the way for the rebound in financing across the seniors housing sector, lenders say. But they are quick to add that construction financing remains difficult to secure for most developers. For much of this year, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has fluctuated between 4.2 and 4.6 percent, a relatively narrow range compared with the high volatility experienced in the three years prior. In 2022, for example, the 10-year yield started the year at approximately 1.5 percent and reached 4.2 percent roughly 11 months later. Because a large percentage of commercial real estate loans are priced off the 10-year yield, the benchmark rate’s recent stability is significant, say lenders. And there is potentially more good news on the horizon.  Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. “The Fed has been holding steady for several months in terms of short-term rates. But it looks now — based on what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said last week in his …

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Self-Storage Offers Investment Reliability as Lifestyle Shifts Drive Consumer Demand

by Taylor Williams

By Katharine Lau, CEO and co-founder, Stuf Following a period of slower activity throughout 2023 and 2024, the self-storage industry is showing clear signs of restored momentum in 2025. According to StorageCafé’s Q1 2025 U.S. Self Storage Sales Report, investment sales volume in the sector hit $855 million nationwide — a notable 37 percent increase from the first quarter of 2024 — suggesting a fresh wave of investor and consumer confidence. While the commercial real estate market continues to face uncertainties, particularly with regard to persistent office vacancies, self-storage is emerging as a stable, demand-driven sector of the industry, propelled by shifting consumer behaviors, flexible business needs and creative adaptive reuse in urban markets. Self-storage demand continues to follow lifestyle shifts. At Stuf, we’re consistently seeing strong growth in the seven markets in which we operate, especially among millennial and gen Z renters, small business owners and remote workers who prioritize proximity, convenience and security when choosing a storage solution. Consumers are increasingly prioritizing smarter spaces that fit into their regular routines. The StorageCafé report shows that interest from large-scale, institutional investors in self-storage has rebounded in 2025, with several eight-figure transactions dotting the map in the first quarter. The …

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What Are the Primary Commercial Real Estate Considerations for Business Owners, Operators?

by Taylor Williams

By James Yoakum, attorney, Kleinbard LLC Many clients of commercial real estate attorneys are full-time, professional real estate investors who live and breathe cap rates, vacancy allowances, loan-to-value ratios and the latest hot adaptive reuse opportunities. However, another large portion of those clients are not real estate obsessives, but rather business owners across a variety of industries who see their real estate needs as just another expense item on the profit-and-loss statement — akin to payroll, utility bills and taxes. This writer also had a similar mix of real estate investor clients and “operating business” clients in his prior career on the brokerage side of the real estate world and has subsequently gained an appreciation for how both types of clients approach transactions. This article offers some key points for brokers, attorneys and other service providers to keep in mind when advising business owners and operators on their real estate needs, wherein operational priorities — rather than traditional real estate investment metrics — are typically key to structuring deals that work long-term. The Big Question: Own vs. Lease? Whether a business should own or lease the real estate that it operates out of is one of the biggest considerations for business …

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Multifamily Operators Elevate Operations, Resident Experience with Bulk Broadband

by Sarah Daniels

Enterprising multifamily players are shifting the industry’s views on community connectivity, elevating broadband from a stand-alone amenity into a performance booster for larger real estate strategies. Rather than leave their residents’ connection quality to chance, these developers, owners and managers are contracting with specialized internet service providers (ISPs) to blanket entire properties with high-speed Wi-Fi access for the best possible online experience. “On the operations side, rolling out community Wi-Fi lets us give residents the full connectivity they expect from other parts of their life, because all areas of the property function together for a seamless experience,” says David Walther, chief revenue officer at third-party property manager Asset Living. Asset Living manages more than 300,000 units at client communities including conventional multifamily, student housing, affordable and other property types across the country. At nearly all student housing and a growing share of the multifamily communities Asset Living manages, matrices of Wi-Fi access points keep residents and property teams alike online as they traverse the property, from inside residential units to pools, fitness centers, garages and other common areas. Earlier this year, Asset Living made internet service provider Pavlov Media a preferred national partner for bulk managed Wi-Fi at its communities. …

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FeaturesSeniors Housing

REITs Are in Hot Pursuit of Seniors Housing Assets

by Hayden Spiess

By Beth Mattson-Teig Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have their foot firmly on the gas when it comes to acquiring seniors housing assets, and they’re taking full advantage of the opportunity to buy at below replacement cost.  The appetite to grow portfolios, particularly on the private pay side of independent living, assisted living and memory care, comes as no surprise given the combined tailwinds of growing consumer demand and a slowdown in new supply.  While the aging population has led to accelerating demand, the high cost of development has forced a sharp pullback in new deliveries. Between now and 2035, the 85-plus population is expected to grow nearly 60 percent, increasing from approximately 7 million to more than 11 million. At the same time, developers are tapping the brakes on new projects.  In the first quarter of 2025, seniors housing construction starts in 31 primary markets tracked by NIC MAP totaled 1,076 units for properties that are a majority independent living or majority assisted living, the lowest count since 2009.  “Frankly, investors have been waiting for this boomer generation to hit and start to move into seniors housing for some time. It’s been anticipated, and it’s now actually starting to …

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