You can already see it.”ĭillard imagines a day when more older Americans choose to live in smaller spaces the same way city-dwelling people in Europe or Asia do.

“I really sense that, over time, there will be a minimization movement. “I think the needle is moving, and for a lot of reasons,” Dillard told SHN. In the age of HGTV and Pinterest, today’s consumers are exposed to more architectural and interior design concepts than perhaps ever before - including the so-called “ tiny house movement.” Cable television and the internet act as a portal for consumers to see how people live in more compact dwellings in other cities or countries.Īnd all of that is helping change public perceptions about living in smaller spaces, according to David Dillard, principal with Dallas-based D2 Architecture. senior living industry - which also underwent a period of reinvention in the early 90s - was embracing big units, big amenities, big parking lots and big campuses.īut that was then, and this is now. In 1992, fast food giant McDonald’s introduced supersizing as a way to meet the rising consumer demand for more, more, more. “At the end of the day, it’s about change and thinking differently, and if we don’t do that, we’re in trouble,” McCracken told Senior Housing News.”It’s not doom and gloom, but we’ve got to be comfortable thinking differently about what future senior housing options look like.” Such concepts decentralize the traditional senior living community layout and may help make senior living services more affordable for the masses in the process.Īnd while there are some barriers in the way - such as the cost per square foot of developing and building smaller homes - it’s an exercise worth undertaking as baby boomers bring a new set of preferences with them as they move into senior housing, according to Lisa McCracken, director of senior living research and development at Chicago-based specialty investment bank Ziegler. And small homes are being organized into new layouts such as “pocket neighborhoods,” like the one at Garden Spot Village in New Holland, Pennsylvania. These include small-home models of senior housing such as Minka, a company Thomas founded that focuses on compact, prefab homes built through modular construction techniques.

Bill Thomas remarked last year, the so-called “big box” model of senior living is no longer the only option for residents.Īrchitects, capital providers, operators and entrepreneurs are exploring new concepts for smaller, more intimate styles of senior housing. When it comes to senior living communities, bigger is sometimes better.

Homes for sale in pocket neighborhoods