The present 12 months is shaping as much as be considered one of “abundance” for Sequoia Dwelling as occupancy continues to rise and development plans are underway, in response to CEO Sara McVey.
However don’t count on an enormous development spurt from the group quickly, as enchancment is a better precedence than easy enlargement in 2025, she added.
Based 60 years in the past, San Francisco-based Sequoia at this time manages 4 life plan communities in Northern California together with three reasonably priced senior housing properties. The group intends to construct a fourth reasonably priced property as soon as the broader improvement and financing climates enhance, McVey informed Senior Housing Information.
To develop its attain past its communities’ 4 partitions, Sequoia additionally operates two senior dwelling facilities in San Francisco. Alongside its owned portfolio, Sequoia additionally offers resident providers and workers at 16 reasonably priced senior housing communities.
Though development is on McVey’s thoughts, Sequoia in 2025 is trying internally to enhance operations and repair strains previous to looking for scale.
“We’re not trying to be exponentially greater than we’re at this time, but when we will have a strategic development pathway, we’d be fascinated about that definitely,” McVey mentioned. “I believe for us, it’s extra about getting higher at what we already do moderately than getting considerably greater.”
Sequoia has in some communities renovated and upgraded vacant resident models. The “classic” nature of some buildings and models requires that Sequoia basically intestine them “all the way down to the studs” and refurbish them, McVey mentioned.
Sequoia opened its fourth group, Sequoia Dwelling Viamonte at Walnut Creek, in December 2020, and McVey famous the group was already full. The group retooled its ready listing on the group to require a extra substantial $20,000 deposit that’s credited to residents upon move-in or refunded absolutely.
“We removed the $1,000-$1,500 ready listing as a result of it was a protracted listing of people that weren’t prepared to maneuver in,” McVey mentioned. “The trickiest a part of excessive occupancy is the engagement and creating connections with individuals.”
To assist enhance engagement, McVey mentioned Sequoia as a corporation is mulling the thought of making a membership program for residents, and exploring partnerships with third-party organizations.
“Folks say the boomers are altering what individuals need, however I don’t assume that’s true,” McVey mentioned. “I believe the boomers are additional revealing what all people desires, which is to dwell their greatest life for so long as they’ll.”
However what’s altering are the methods by which senior dwelling operators can use their medical experience and life-style engagement data to construct proactive wellness programming that strikes away from the standard scheduled group lessons to emphasizing personalization, she mentioned.
“Personalization is what individuals want to be able to actually dwell that out in apply,” McVey mentioned.
McVey believes senior dwelling can implement much more proactive and preventive well being care providers or programming to assist residents enhance well being and wellbeing.
She sees potential in some mainstream longevity and wellness choices, together with wearable technology-enabled units. For instance, doubtlessly providing Oura ring subscriptions to residents and workers, McVey mentioned. The wearable ring tracks 30 completely different biometric information factors, in response to the Oura web site.
Internally, McVey sees the most important problem in operations being the “white-knuckling of the established order,” by which altering outdated practices takes thought management, motion and time spent to enhance tradition. To enhance worker tradition, Sequoia division groups are cross-trained in a number of areas of the group to show them to the broader group. To enhance retention, Sequoia affords tuition reimbursements for workers and workers relations to assist workers.
With the assist of its senior facilities appearing as “hubs,” McVey sees alternatives to serve extra residents and older adults dwelling of their houses with providers. These operations pair with the group’s reasonably priced senior housing effort, aiming to enhance entry to housing for older adults in California.
Based on the Nationwide Alliance to Finish Homelessness, individuals over the age of fifty function the fastest-growing group of individuals experiencing homelessness with figures anticipated to double by 2030.
“Affordability is the elephant within the room for senior dwelling,” McVey mentioned.
