Greystone reinstated its annual Development Conference with great interest from fellow senior living partners. More than 45 senior living design and construction professionals representing 27 unique organizations traveled to Greystone’s corporate office for two days of learning and collaboration.  

The power-packed agenda featured insights and strategic approaches to navigating senior living while increasingly “under pressure.” From finding market and land opportunities to creating financially viable businesses and operating successful communities, developers and designers are under an increasing amount of pressure to balance time and cost constraints with evolving trends and operational demands.

How can we work to overcome these challenges in senior living design and development while increasingly under pressure?

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1. Anticipate and plan for delays.

Timely execution ensures occupancy goals are met, improving financial sustainability. While we cannot guarantee delays will not happen, designers and contractors can take several proactive steps to anticipate and plan for delays, helping to keep projects on track.

Leveraging project management tools that offer real-time updates on progress, material status, and personnel availability can help teams stay responsive to changing conditions. These tools can also help identify slowdowns immediately and prompt quick, data-driven decisions. Distributing early mockups and prototypes, as well as having alternatives for material sourcing, can ensure there is adequate buffer time in critical phases of the project. Lastly, initiating open communication and scheduling consistent check-ins allows the team to address any emerging issues in its early stages.

2. Design earlier.

Many attendees reported seeing the design schedule being accelerated to provide for more detailed design earlier in the process, which then allows for more accurate cost estimates at an earlier date to ultimately limit costs and delays from redesign. With the continued pressure on construction costs and project budgets, owners and development teams are looking for more accurate cost information to address challenges earlier, when it is cheaper and doesn’t cause as significant of a delay. Designing earlier also necessitates securing permitting earlier; this is crucial in the event that presales occur more quickly than planned.

Early design can also benefit marketing teams, giving them more opportunity to showcase design (in either 3D models or renderings) to prospective residents. This also presents an opportunity for developers to receive feedback at an earlier stage and incorporate it back into design. The result? A truly resident-responsive community.

Attendees also discussed the possibility of changing architect and construction contracts to provide incentives to maintain schedule and budget.

3. Design for tomorrow.

Conversations about designing for tomorrow’s residents are crucial to designing a community that can stand the test of time. One of the biggest considerations is a community’s ability to allow residents to age in place. There is an increasing need to make spaces more accessible as residents age, utilizing features such as non-carpeted hallways and lower thermostats.

Design teams must also consider current and future staffing challenges and ensuring that the design provides operational efficiencies and does not contribute to staffing challenges. Further, designing communities with a focus on team members as well as residents can improve satisfaction and service delivery, and reduce turnover.

Lastly, trends in senior living technology, such as various call systems, fall detection technologies, and access control systems, are essential for both safety and operational improvement. As residents become more tech-savvy, integrating technology into senior living design enhances both resident safety and satisfaction. It also helps improve operational efficiencies, making the community more resilient to future changes.

During presentations, attendees got a glimpse into Greystone’s project planning process and how the market, financing and economic environment, staffing needs, and operations plan all impact the business model and contribute to a project’s success. After presentations, attendees put this comprehensive knowledge to the test by completing their own project planning charrette. Each group consisted of architects, interior designers, and contractors – as it would for a real-life senior living project – and were tasked with designing a project that fit the given land, unit mix, and market demographics. While each group’s result was unique in its design, attendees were able to learn about other portions of the design process they might not normally experience.

Many thanks to AG Architecture, CORE Construction, DeAngelis Diamond Construction, Faulkner Design Group, HKS, The Hollyday Group, Kraus-Anderson Construction, LRS Architects, MDP, PARIC, Perkins Eastman, Pi Architects, Pike Residential, PRDG, RDG Planning and Design, RDL Architects, REES, RLPS Architects, SAS Architects, Scopos Hospitality Group, SFCS, Studio 121, StudioSIX5, Tektone, three Architecture, THW Design, and The Weitz Company for attending and making this conference a great discussion.