Session Description: 30. MEETING CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS WITH CAMPUS REINVESTMENTS | Daren Bell, Sharon Grambow, Cole Marvin

According to the 2020 LeadingAge Ziegler report, roughly 75% of providers are looking to grow through campus expansions and repositionings in the next two years. Many not-for-profit providers are reinvesting in their campuses to stay on top of changing consumer expectations (Boomer preferences) and to maintain a competitive advantage amongst the growing for-profit seniors housing developers. This session will give a national, regional, and statewide perspective on the topic of community repositionings and expansions, and how growth plans have changed in light of COVID-19. Time will be devoted to discussing common elements of recent community projects. This would include upgrading common spaces, carving out specific memory care living spaces, modernizing healthcare offerings, and expanding independent living units. Session presenters will also share advice on how to ensure a successful project execution. Today’s economic conditions and workforce pressures are escalating construction costs, and providers need to plan carefully to ensure projects will fall within budgeted amounts. 
The session will also give direction on how to balance capital planning for multiple projects and how to ensure an ongoing culture of reinvestment in one’s physical plant. Attendees will learn how to leverage staff and internal expertise and how to develop effective constituency communications to ensure a successful repositioning effort.  In addition to an overview of trends and insights on successful project execution, two case studies will be presented. The two providers, Sun Health and Friendship Village of Tempe, will each share about significant campus projects undertaken in recent years. What were the drivers behind the repositioning and expansions? Were there any lessons learned along the way? How did each develop a successful financing plan to fund the project needs? These items along with many others will be shared by each provider organization.  This topic is an important one as campus reinvestment is critical to the long-term viability of a retirement community. The hope is that covering key topics within this over-arching theme from multiple perspectives will provide the audience with a set of tools to advance their own community master planning.