Following years of success in Arizona, the Ziegler and Greystone Executive Symposium (ZGES) left the desert in favor of the sunny shores of Bonita Springs, Fla. Nearly 100 professionals representing more than 35 organizations attended for three days of discussions, forecasting, networking and a tour of the nearby Terraces at Bonita Springs.

ZGES is an annual conference offering industry- and market-focused sessions for executives and board members of the nation’s leading CCRCs and sponsors.

“The 2015 Ziegler-Greystone Symposium exceeded our expectations,” said Mark Andrews, President and Chief Operating Officer of Greystone. “A record number of provider organizations attended. Their collective mindset is yet another indication that the pace of growth in senior living is quickly accelerating. They were constantly in action mode discussing strategy and tactics to grow, adapt and evolve with our dynamic market.”

In fact, providers showed just how ready they are to grow business in the results of our annual benchmark survey. The survey looks at how macro and industry trends impact providers, as well as the current issues on their radars and outlook on growth prospects.

Completed by operators representing more than 75 CCRC campuses, this year’s survey revealed:

• 95 percent of respondents are currently planning or executing upon a redevelopment or expansion project
• 85 percent are considering multiple growth initiatives, including expanding or redeveloping their existing campus, developing a new campus, or acquiring, partnering or merging with another entity
• 85 percent said they would initiate expansion activities in their existing campus within three years; half said they would also pursue either redevelopment activities or new campus opportunities in the same time frame
• For those interested in investing in a CCRC, the majority are drawn to moderately sized projects with project budgets under $100 million, targeted at the upper-middle market
• 75 percent have a more optimistic outlook on the economy compared to last year, while the remaining respondents are unchanged
• 65 percent see real estate values in their markets experiencing moderate improvements over pre-recession levels
• The regulatory environment and reimbursement changes, competition from for-profits and real estate market fears top their list of concerns
• Independent living move-in incentives remain a player with 90 percent of respondents indicating they have either maintained or increased their use of incentives

As we move further from the recession, providers are increasingly confident about the economy and showing a greater appetite for growth. These survey results further underscore the positive industry outlook shared by Greystone.