Senior Housing Is Getting a Whole New Look

Senior housing is rapidly changing, thanks to an aging population that is staying active and healthier decades longer than past generations. Douglas Wilson Cos. has delivered a new brand of senior housing in San Diego that is rich with amenities and focused on wellness. Sienna at Otay Ranch, a $32 million 111-unit complex, is the first in a series of modern senior housing projects the developer plans to deliver over the next decade in the Western US.

“This new brand is committed to innovative, amenity-rich facilities that are geared toward wellness. We believe that Sienna at Otay Ranch so obviously abandons old stigmas and clearly embraces the future of senior living,” Douglas Wilson, CEO and chairman of Douglas Wilson Cos., tells GlobeSt.com. “At all levels—design, amenities, day-to-day management—we are providing a platform for healthy living. That’s the recipe for the future.”

This new brand of senior living is a reflection of the evolving asset class, according to Wilson. “This asset class is changing radically from what it was even a few years ago as people are living longer and living healthier longer,” he says. “They may need to be in a needs-based facility but still desire an active lifestyle. Our intent is to make certain that our communities are designed to have a healthy and social environment that will promote and assist longevity.”

Sienna at Otay Ranch meets this new demand with more independent living and a combination of 85 assisted living units and 26 memory-care units. Douglas Wilson also partnered with institutional partners to bring the high quality property to market. “Our vision was to align ourselves with the right professionals in the industry; seasoned, accomplished firms with a long standing pedigree to help establish Sienna at Otay Ranch as the foundation project for us to build upon, to build our portfolio,” explains Wilson. “We wanted to be thoughtful and cautious, to have institutional, quality relationships that we could move forward with.”

San Diego has a growing baby boomer population and high barriers to entry for new development. It is also in Douglas Wilson’s headquarters market. “We’ve been headquartered in this marketplace since 1989,” adds Wilson. “We know how to take properties that lack appropriate entitlements and get them through the process. DWC has a strong track record of navigating difficult parcels through the entitlement process.”

While Douglas Wilson is a seasoned real estate investment company, this is the firm’s foray into senior housing. It saw an opportunity to bring a higher quality product to the market for a growing demographic. “The Baby Boomers won’t reach an age to really be active in senior housing for seven or eight years. We are planning and developing facilities now that will respond to that pent-up demand. We’ll be ready, as opposed to be reacting too late,” says Wilson. “The need for this type of housing is tremendous and going forward, demand is only going to increase. We are bullish that well designed, highly amenitized, professionally operated communities for independent, assisted and memory care living will be a strong asset class moving forward.”