Reinventing the senior apartment

Many senior living environments were built in the 1970s and are looking very tired. To keep pace with the consumer demand for style and liveability, owners have to consider updating their existing settings to make them an attractive option for occupancy. However, this is not quite as easy as it sounds. Rising energy costs, sluggish sales, and unstable construction demands put upgrading and marketing on a collision course.

Gregory Scott, AIA; and Kathleen Goff, Associate, of RLPS Architecture, presented strategies for reinventing existing settings to meet consumer expectations for aging in style. Through a display of before and after photographs, they showed how thinking “outside the box” dramatically improves the layout inside the box of a standard apartment unit by moving or removing components to create open, airy, attractive, and marketable senior llving spaces—indoors and out.

With some investment, good design, and imagination, these tired spaces can be reinvigorated to meet the aesthetics that the Boomer cohort will demand.

Sandra Hoban

Sandra Hoban was on I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living’s editorial staff for 17 years. She is one of the country’s longest-serving senior care journalists. Before joining Long-Term Living, she was a member of the promotions department at Advanstar Communications. In addition to her editorial experience, Sandi has served past roles in print and broadcast advertising as a traffic and talent coordinator.