The Next Generation of Senior wants a Different Type of Senior Living Community.
This next generation will expect, at a minimum, the best of what current communities offer: residential and universal design throughout, independence with the ability to age in place, access to quality health care if needed and excellent services and programs. However, in addition, we also believe they will desire communities that offer:
- Design that creates a true feeling of neighborhood and sense of place by incorporating new urbanism and mixed-use elements;
- Intergenerational programs and services;
- Personalized programs, spaces, and technology;
- Greater connection to the surrounding neighborhood and the community-at-large.
In other words, communities that don’t look or feel like traditional “seniors housing”.
See below for recent articles on senior living incorporating Intergenerational design and programming, new urbanism and mixed-use design, placemaking and theming, and related topics. Further below we also have a bibliography on recommended books on these topics.
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Mixing It Up! Changing from Age-Segregated to Intergenerational (11/30/23)
SAGE webinar. Contact me for the presentation pdf.
December 13, 2023
Waltonwood Senior Living, Wayne State University Launch Intergenerational Memory Care Program (11/15/23)
Aimed at improving the lives of memory care residents by way of building intergenerational connections, the first of its kind in the state of Michigan
Senior Services To Open Intergenerational Center For Arts And Wellness (11/5/23)
The 62,500-square-foot community center (to be called “Generations Center”) will offer activities, programming, and creative collaborative endeavors for seniors and the community
Lyngdal Healthcare Centre, Norway (10/28/23)
The skilled nursing home and healthcare centers amenities, including a salon, café, fitness center, laundromat, and day center, are shared between residents and locals to help create intergenerational connections. Relatives are also welcome to stay for dinner and overnight.
Sophia at Fox Valley Mall, Aurora IL (10/20/23)
The senior living community is integrated within the overall mall amenity spaces, which include shopping, dining, a movie theater, parks, walking paths, and outdoor entertainment venues.
Participate in the ‘Intergenerational Considerations in Senior Living’ Survey (10/15/23)
A joint survey being conducted by SAGE, AIA Design for Aging and the Center for Health Design.
October 26, 2023
Intergenerational Daycare, Preschool Create Awareness around Senior Living (10/1/23)
“When they become part of this intergenerational program, it opens their eyes to the world of senior living and how they can be part of it through visiting residents, volunteering and more.”
Live-in Intergenerational Programs Combat Loneliness, Ageism, Study Finds (9/11/23)
Live-in intergenerational programs can help improve community well-being and resident resilience, not to mention combat ageist stereotypes, according to the results of a new study.
Intergenerational Care Models are Having Impact (9/5/23)
Intergenerational connections may be one solution for loneliness, so here are four innovative sites across the country putting that concept into practice
Senior Living Design Trends: Intentional Intergenerational Inclusion (9/1/23)
Intergenerational connections may be one solution for loneliness, so here are four innovative sites across the country putting that concept into practice
Intergenerational Living & Learning Communities (8/30/23)
How to create successful intergenerational communities – Anne Doyle of Spark Living & Learning
McNairs First Varcity Community at Purdue (8/24/23)
McNair Living’s new Varcity brand is “flipping the paradigm” on university-based senior living communities with a model focused on developing intergenerational communities on or very near notable universities’ campuses
Erdman Brings Integrative Thinking to Bear on Intergenerational Living (8/1/23)
The primary concept is to generate symbiotic relationships through intentional programming and informal interactions between generations of residents
The Business Case for Intergenerational Living & Learning Communities (7/31/23)
Article by Anne Doyle of Spark Living & Learning in Love & Co 2023 Senior Housing Trends
July 31, 2023
Grand Living At The Grove: First Look (7/7/23)
New Austin community will serve as a a gateway building to bordering mixed-use development.
Intergenerational programming benefits both senior living residents, younger participants (7/25/23)
“We’re trying to create a full community within our walls,” she said. “We’re really trying to look into the communities around us. See who’s around you, and extend that hand. Be more inclusive.”
College-based Intergenerational Living Experience in Pennsylvania (6/2/23)
Building on the benefits of intergenerational living, which can include alleviating loneliness among seniors and providing mentorships for younger residents, Pittsburgh-based Chatham University and Vincentian Schenley Gardens Personal Care Home are collaborating in an intergenerational living experience for students and seniors.
UBRCs as a Growth Opportunity
Love & Co Whitepaper: These are multigenerational communities where residents enjoy housing, dining, wellness, healthcare and education, all on one campus.
Pilot Section 202/Section 8 Pilot Program for Intergenerational Housing
This would enable affordable senior housing providers to retrofit and improve accessibility at their properties to better support older adult residents who are raising their grandchildren.
EFA Conference Review: Next Generation Seeks Intergenerational Opportunities (5/2/23)
While many seniors today want intergenerational connection and engagement, traditional design approaches in senior living don’t do a good job of incorporating that connection
Grand Living at the Grove serves at Gateway to mixed-use development (4/11/23)
222 units in the walkable neighborhood that includes outdoor spaces, a park, and retail.
5 Criteria to develop a successful UBRC (3/17/23)
Interview with Andrew Carle, Georgetown University
Brightview Senior Living Plans Intergenerational Community On College Campus (2/6/23)
A new senior living community on the campus of Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) in Baltimore. Community resident will have access to campus resources like performances, art exhibits, and lectures while students gain access to mentors and intergenerational learning opportunities.
‘NYT: The Next Retirement Communities Won’t be Just for Seniors (2/2/23)
New developments that integrate senior housing into age-diverse apartment buildings offer a more affordable alternative to isolated suburban retirement communities.
‘VarCity’ Aims to Re-Invent University-Based Senior Living (1/31/23)
Centers on developing intergenerational residential communities on or very near university campuses and securing logo and naming rights from big schools.
Rose Villa Senior Living Expansion includes Childcare and Preschool (1/18/23)
The new Madrona Grove health center is connected via a shared courtyard to childcare and a two-classroom preschool. “It’s just this great gathering space where people of all different ages can interact” Vassar Byrd notes that intergenerational interaction includes less depression, less morbidity, and a longer life,” Byrd adds the preschool’s outdoor play area wraps […]
Cross-Generational Conversations Aim to Build Relationships Across Age Continuum (1/13/23)
A Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration will launch a cross-generational dialogue program at 12 senior living communities around age literacy and awareness. Bloomfield, NJ-based Juniper Communities is partnering with Generations Over Lunch to bring in AmeriCorps volunteers and youth activists, together with senior living residents to break down stigmas surrounding aging.
McNair Launches New Senior Living Strategy With University-Focused Brand (1/11/23)
The company is developing intergenerational senior housing communities on or near university campuses.
Psychology Today: Connecting with Older Adults is Good for You and Them (12/13/22)
Our society is increasingly segregated by age; younger and older people have little contact with each other. Reserach shows older adults benefit from relationships. The young also benefit from relationships with older adults through wisdom-sharing, skill-building and improved attitudes toward older people. with younger people through improved mental and physical health.
Fellowship Family Senior Project in Existing Mixed-use Development (12/12/22)
Situated on 16 acres, the community will comprise 24 memory care units, 48 assisted living units, 125 independent living units, and six cottages. It will join existing residential homesites, multifamily apartments, a town center, University of Florida Health (UF Health), and YMCA health and wellness facilities.
Illiminus Developing Project in Multi-Generational Neighborhood (12/1/22)
Offering everyday interactions, from volunteering at a nearby elementary school to walking your dog to casual conversations at community barbecues, will inspire rewarding connections between the generations.
Azola Avery Centre Planned As Part Of Mixed-use Development In Texas (12/1/22)
Azola Avery Centre, a three-story senior living community with 359 units, is being planned in Round Rock, Texas. The community will be part of The Avery Centre a 1,200-acre, master-planned community, which includes Texas A&M University Health Science Center and Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital.
Brandywine CEO: New Intergenerational Senior Living Model Hinges on Creating Neighborhoods (11/29/22)
In the past, senior living communities might have done this through cross-programming with a daycare or local school. But Bacon believes the future of intergenerational senior living lies in fostering much more organic meetings between people.
Harris Family Senior Residence Opens As Part Of Intergenerational Community In California (11/10/22)
Harris Family Senior Residence Opens As Part Of Intergenerational Community In California
Sarasota Suncoast Community Church Plans Intergenerational Community In Florida (10/27/22)
The 98-unit assisted living and memory care community will be located adjacent to the organization’s church and a school.
Bridging Generational Divides (10/20/22)
Next Avenue: Innovators focus on the power of intergenerational connection to stem the mental health crisis affecting older and younger people alike.
Koelsch Builds Near University With Intergenerational Connections a Goal (10/18/22)
While there is no formal relationship between the operator and the university, CEO Aaron Koelsch said the project is a potential jumping-off point for collaboration between the two, especially with regard to intergenerational programming between college students and senior living residents.
‘Push the Envelope’: Architects Rethink Senior Living Design for the Boomers (10/6/22)
Baby Boomers are perhaps more open to intergenerational connectivity and living in urban environments than their predecessors. “The backdrop is having that vibrant, mixed-use support that creates an entire ecosystem that’s part of the fabric of the local community”
Broadview Senior Living at Purchase College (10/1/22)
A new not-for-profit senior living community in Rye Brooke, New York, is serving the needs of a growing senior population while also providing unique opportunities for intergenerational learning, creativity and mentoring.
Mary’s Woods Mixed Use Development (9/14/22)
The Mary’s Woods Village Square Retail Outlet includes a dental office, coffee shop, nail salon, and primary care clinic (with specialists in rehab and physical therapy), all open to residents as well as the public.
Back to School: University-Based Senior Living Trend Nears Next Evolution (9/1/22)
“Senior living on college campuses attracts a very different client and a very different type of architect and a very different kind of building,” Haller told Senior Housing News.
Intergenerational playground makes Londonderry Village unique (8/30/22)
The community has a playground on its campus, just a couple hundred feet from the Green House residences. Glynn’s grandkids call it “PopPop’s Playground.”
Blue Zones, Generations LLC Initiative Could Bring ‘Future of Health Care’ to Senior Living (8/30/22)
Their concept is to create large campuses such as Generations’ Paradise Village community near San Diego, and to make these into wellness-focused, intergenerational destinations.
Garden Spot Focuses on Intergenerational Connections (8/29/22)
The community focuses on intergenerational connections and ties to the local community versus luxury amenities. Lindsey notes that service-minded residents have always been its core base and the project’s overarching goal is to bring all walks of life together to build a sense of community.
Belmont opens Living Lab in new La Jolla project (8/23/22)
The community includes a Living Lab, a collaboration with UC San Diego’s Stein Institute for Research on Aging (La Jolla) that connects researchers with residents to study ways to improve their quality of life.
How Urban Design Can Fulfill Senior Living Needs for Baby Boomers (8/1/22)
Baby boomers want to stay engaged in their communities and with their professions and pursuits.
Students, Seniors to Share Space in Nonprofit Tabitha’s First Intergenerational Community (7/29/22)
The community is housing seniors and college students under one roof through a forward-thinking partnership with Bryan College of Health and Sciences. In fact, Tabitha is setting aside 25 dorm-like units specifically for students — an effort to connect young and old.
The Future of Aging Is Intergenerational (7/6/22)
Next Avenue article: “Yet the idea that the relationship between older and younger generations is a zero-sum economic game is wrong — very wrong. The far more powerful story is one of generational interdependence and the advantages that come from nurturing common bonds and mutual opportunities.”
Intergenerational Senior Living Concept (7/5/22)
Communities on college campuses, Urban-based senior living, and college students as ‘artist in residence’
Mather CEO: New Wellness Model is Attracting Next Generation to Senior Living (6/2/22)
“One idea that has come out of this was to position senior living communities as creative hubs in the larger community that offer intergenerational opportunities for creative arts. The Mather in Evanston hosts an annual open-air painting event downtown that involves people of all ages, and we found a lot of receptivity to that.”
UpsideHom Model Provides Services to Seniors in Traditional Multifamily Units (5/18/22)
UpsideHom is not an owner or operator of real estate. Instead, the company works to place older adults in units at suitable multifamily communities, then provide residents with some of the services they might normally receive in senior living, such as laundry and housekeeping.
Montessori-inspired Bezos Academy preschool on Senior Living Campus (5/17/22)
Forefront Living announces 10-year lease to deepen the organization’s commitment to intergenerational programming
The Baldwin integrates into a live-work-play Neighborhood with Intergenerational Interaction (5/15/22)
The design encourages resident engagement and intergenerational interaction. It is welcoming and walkable, with an “urban corridor” where residents & the public can access dining venues, retail spaces, and a salon/spa. Additional resident amenities will be housed along the corridor, connected by a pedestrian bridge/underground tunnel, enabling residents to move freely regardless of weather.
Americans Want Spaces that Service Young & Old Together (5/1/22)
Generations United & Eisner Foundation survey showing 92 percent of Americans believe activities bringing together children/youth and older adults can reduce loneliness across all ages.
2022 EFA: “Design Ideas for the Next Generation of Senior Living” (4/25/22)
Article about the presentation Vassar Byrd and I made at the 2022 EFA conference on why the next generation of seniors is looking for something different and seven guiding principles to best incorporate intergenerational and new urbanism/mixed-use elements.
April 25, 2022
Project: Trinity Woods on the Mount Mary University Campus (4/24/22)
The community opened with 90 market-rate IL, 24 dormitory units for single mothers enrolled as students, a child development facility for up to 100 children, and a two-story Town Center to foster intergenerational connection. All spaces are designed to “encourage sprendipitous and supportive interactions of all occupants”.
Project: New Belmont Village Project Offers Intergenerational Programming (4/24/22)
The 150 unit community is collaborating with a local school district to offer intergenerational programming for residents and elementary through midde-school students. CEO Partricia Will notes the next generation of seniors desire “higher levels of engagement and purpose than previous generations”
Project: Broadview Senior Living on Purchase College Campus (4/24/22)
The community will offer IL, AL and MC plus a Learning Commons, a 10,000 SF “communal space where residents, students, and faculty members will have opportunities to interact and learn intergenerationally”
Project: Brandywine Goes Big on Intergenerational Living (4/24/22)
New Brandywine AL project next to high school “to create organic, unstructured interactions between the two communities. The community will plan programming and other activities that help bring generations together and create opportunities for young and old to interact. For example, Brandywine residents will be encouraged to visit the school and see a play or […]
April 24, 2022
Project: Senior Living Community Partners with Bezos Academy PreSchool (3/17/22)
IG Forefront Living CEO: Bezos Academy Partnership Advances Our Intergenerational Commitment
April 2, 2022
Disney to Develop Communities With Senior Housing Neighborhoods – Senior Housing News (2/22/22)
Disney is building its first Storyliving community — dubbed Cotino — in Rancho Mirage, California. www.storylivingbydisney.com
Project: Mixed-Use Project with Apartments, Commercial, Single-Farmily and Senior Living (2/14/22)
New City Development Unveils Plans for $300M Mixed-Use Project in Plainfield, Indiana
Analysis From 113 Countries Shows The Harrowing Extent of Loneliness We Live With (2/11/22)
Even before the global pandemic hit, a sweeping meta-analysis has found chronic or severe loneliness was a common and overlooked experience – especially among seniors.
Project: Senior Living on the ASU campus (2/1/22)
Mirabella at ASU blends senior living services with college life and amenities, where older adults and students can mingle
Normalize Aging Through Intergenerational Programming – Senior Living Foresight (1/17/22)
“I encourage everyone in our industry to become stewards of intergenerational activities in order to bring joy to more people.”
“Don’t Mind the Gap in Intergenerational Housing” – NYT (12/28/21)
Options exist for intergenerational housing and new models are proliferating.
The Villages is a Success Story; But Many Seniors Want Something Different (12/28/21)
Paul Irving, Chairman of the Center for the Future of Aging: “Is a town without the sounds of children and a diversity of races and styles really a paradise? Studies confirm that the intergenerational connections and sense of purpose associated with those types of living and learning arrangements foster health, positive attitudes and well-being”
Project: Mixed-Use Project with Retail, Recreation, Apartments and Senior Living (12/21/21)
$350 Million Mixed-Use Project Moves Ahead with Atria, Welltower On Board – Senior Housing News
Project: Regenerative Communities (12/1/21)
Modern Elder Academy shifts the primary aspiration in aging from leisure to cultivating purpose and connection. Instead of a golf course, we have a regenerative farm or ranch. Regenerative communities are to the 21st century what a retirement community was to the 20th.
Transforming Age & Sustainable Housing for Ageless Generations Ready Intergenerational Model (11/29/21)
“For a long time, I’ve been trying to break down the barrier, the idea that senior housing is an island and isolated unto itself,”
Intergenerational Mentorship Program Aims to Promote Social Connection, Reduce Loneliness (11/23/21)
A virtual mentorship program connecting independent living residents and teens helped counteract loneliness
For Most Seniors, There’s No Place Like Home – Business Daily News – McKnight’s Senior Living (10/20/21)
An overwhelming number of older adults want to stay in their own homes rather than move
The Villages is a Retirement ‘Paradise’ — So Why is that a Problem? – MarketWatch (10/2/21)
More older adults realize that intergenerational connections are not just valuable for them but for their communities and country. At our Center for the Future of Aging at the Milken Institute, we have promoted the benefits of diverse cities and the case for intergenerational living, which are very different from the Villages.
Project: Mixed-Use Project with Multifamily, Restaurants, Retail, Office & Senior Living (posted 9/1/21)
Nicol Investment Starts Construction of $200M Upland Park Mixed-Use Project in Huntsville AL
Project: Aldersgate – Planning for the Retrofit of Retirement Communities | CNU (posted 9/1/21)
Aldersgate, a single-purpose suburban-developed CCRC, is developing its excess land with non-senior living uses to create a walkable, intergenerational, mixed use form
Project: Assisted Living & Memory Care with integrated Montessori school (posted 9/1/21)
Insight Senior Living Opens Intergenerational Amaran Senior Living Community in Albuquerque
Project: Mixed-Use Project with Retail, Medical Office Building & Senior Living (posted 9/1/21)
Trammel Crow plans $200M mixed-use development in Alexandria, VA
Why Multifamily, Senior Housing Hybrids Could Shape the Future of Intergenerational Living (posted 9/1/21)
“The lines between multifamily apartmetns and senior lviing are continuing to blur”. Discusses both The Canyons and the Garden Spot communities.
Project: Blending Senior Housing and Multifamily in a Hybrid Model (posted 9/1/21)
The Canyons in Portland, OR is not age-restricted but its universal design and range of services appeal to both older and younger people, targeting about 70% older adults and 30% younger residents
Project: Garden Spot “Looks Beyond Age-Restricted Housing” (posted 9/1/21)
“The organization is exploring ways to create community for people from all walks of life and all generations”
A New Model for Continuing Care | CNU (posted 9/1/21)
Seniors don’t want senior living projects where the most prominent feature is a parking lot behind a gated entry, but instead walkable connections to shops and services. “We are creating a product in placemaking”
Re-Imagining Senior Living, Part Two – The New Frontier – Senior Living Foresight (posted 9/1/21)
We segregate people by age – there is something wrong about this. Six ideas to promote intergenerational connection
Project: Moravian Senior Living Campus Integrates New Urbanist Principles (9/1/21)
Warwick Woodlands Campus – Moravian
Project: Mixed-Use Project with Rental Apartments, Condos, Retail and Senior Living (posted 9/1/21)
Senior Living To Be Part Of Mixed-use Project In New Jersey – EFA Magazine
Family Village Living: Opportunity Beyond Age Segregation – Senior Living Foresight (posted 9/1/21)
Is legalized age-segregation is essential, or even desirable, for senior living communities?
Opportunity Beyond Age Segregation – Senior Living Foresight (posted 9/1/21)
Our concepts of old age have shifted dramatically in the last 50 years. We all know and herald the longevity revolution. But equally dramatic, is the vitality revolution that keeps more and more aging people as productive members of society throughout their lives. Is the era of age-segregated senior housing coming to an end?
Project: Senior Living Community on Notre Dame of Maryland Campus (posted 9/1/21)
Brightview Senior Living To Add Community On College Campus | EFA Magazine
Seniors Housing Developers Embrace Intergenerational Living Trends – REBusinessOnline (posted 9/1/21)
“intergenerational housing models are emerging as an attractive alternative for a group that wants a different type of retirement experience. Mixing different age groups has benefits for everyone involved.”
Project: Otterbein SeniorLife’s Effort to Develop a 1,200 Acre Intergenerational Community (posted 9/1/21)
“Turner recently shared his perspective on the intersection between intergenerational senior housing and New Urbanism — and the budding partnerships between senior living and all-ages developers”
An epidemic of loneliness | The Week (posted 9/1/21)
Nearly half of all Americans today say they are lonely. Why is that so, and what are the consequences?
25 great ideas of the New Urbanism | CNU (posted 9/1/21)
The New Urbanism is a design movement toward complete, compact, connected communities—but it is also a generator of ideas that transform the landscape.
White Paper: Team-Based Master Planning – The Most Efficient Way to Bring an Expansion or Start-up Community to Reality (8/14/21)
White Paper released as part of a webinar on Team-Based Master Planning to which I contributed and co-presented.
August 19, 2020
Project: Mixed-Use Project Anchored by Senior Living in Metro D.C. (8/13/21)
Trammel Crow Mixed-Use developing a mixed-use project with retail, medical office & senior living in Metro D.C.
April 2, 2022
White Paper: Creating an Intergenerational Experience in Senior Living: Seven Guiding Design & Operations Principles (2/20/20)
White paper I wrote based on a review of more than 50 senior living communities that incorporate intergenerational elements, recent literature and publications on the topic, and interviews with community CEOs and senior living architects. Footnoted and hyperlinked, it is meant to serve as a primer for those wanting to learn more about this fast-evolving […]
- Design - New Urbanism & Mixed Use
- Design – New Urbanism & Mixed Use
- Intergenerational Trends
- Intergenerational Trends
- Placemaking & Theming
- Placemaking & Theming
- Senior Living Trends
- Senior Living Trends
- Witz Co Writings
- Witz Co Writings
February 14, 2020
The Intergenerational Senior Living Experience: Three Questions to Ask – Love & Co blog (11/13/19)
Post I wrote for the Love & Company blog
November 15, 2019
Boomers Want to Stay Home – Wall Street Journal (11/12/19)
Key quote “People don’t want to go to a place where there’s only a bunch of other old people”
Enticing Senior Living Housing Options – Milwaukee BizTimes (11/5/19)
Article by Eric Harrmann with AG Architecture about new seniors housing alternatives; I provided some thoughts on intergenerational and mixed-use concepts.
Senior Living Conversations: Contemplating the Future of Health Care – AG Architecture (6/2019)
AG Architecture panel interview in which I participated. Discussed the need to ‘blur the lines’ between independent living and care components.
October 25, 2019
The Future of Senior Living is Intergenerational – Love & Co blog (2/2019)
Post I wrote for the Love & Company blog
March 3, 2019
Why Senior Housing Needs to Change to Appeal to Boomers – Next Avenue (12/2018)
“Boomers are in a position to force a dismantling of the old models of senior living…as an industry we have built product that does not align with what the consumer wants.”
February 11, 2019
Redefining the Golden Years – EFA Magazine (12/2018)
“Older adults are increasingly seeking daily routines that enable them to connect with people of all ages and are forging living and working arrangements that are intergenerational.”
February 10, 2019
Aging with grace: The next big challenge for urbanists – Congress for New Urbanism (10/2018)
“While a CCRC may be the ideal senior living option to ‘age in place’, [most are] not physically connected to a walkable town center or neighborhood center and create their own type of isolation.”
February 8, 2019
Does Active Adult Community Marketing Pit Need for Independence Vs. Community? – Senior Housing News (10/2018)
“Segregating the older population from their families, friends, and communities isn’t necessarily the best—or healthiest—idea.”
February 7, 2019
A Seniors Housing Master Planning Mantra – Love & Co blog (10/2018)
A short post I wrote for the Love & Company blog regarding the recommended master planning approach.
February 6, 2019
Fostering Connections Between Young & Old – New York Times (6/2018)
“It’s the way people were meant to grow up and grow old in connection with each other; this is the wave of the future among senior housing providers”. Summary of the Generations United survey of 180 intergenerational programs.
February 5, 2019
Pocket Neighborhoods – Madison.com (2014)
The case for pocket neighborhoods: creating a more intimate residential neighborhood feel.
February 4, 2019
New Homes for Seniors – Urban Land Magazine
Article I wrote for Urban Land magazine a few years back regarding senior living in New Urbanism communities. This was based on a very positive experience developing a senior living community in an Andres Duany-designed neo-traditional neighborhood in the midwest.
February 4, 2000
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