About half of all senior living communities in the U.S. are at least 25 years old in 2025, according to NIC data. Operators are updating them for a new generation.
Regular maintenance and upgrades can help operators remain competitive and keep a community from falling into obsolescence. Senior living operators have many priorities, from new amenities to updated staff areas, but only a finite budget with which to accomplish them. What operators prioritize in a renovation or repositioning project could make or break the community’s success.
Mirroring the wider industry, nearly half of Presbyterian Homes & Services’ 60-community portfolio is 25 years or older. The organization faces the challenges of modernizing those communities with updated features to keep them competitive. Maintaining older communities is important given that operators often must compete against new communities sometimes referred to as “shiny pennies” in their markets.
“All of the newer models have those features people are looking for that you then have to compete against,” said Dustin Sayre, director of renovations at Presbyterian Homes & Services, during a panel at the recent Senior Housing News BUILD conference in Dallas.
Not only do senior living operators weigh the attractiveness of such projects, they also must keep communities relatively affordable to their target residents.
“We’re trying to find that happy medium between enhancing the unit in a way that’s beneficial to current residents and attractive for the next 15 years, but at the same time, you don’t want to go too far where an apartment goes from $25,000 to $50,000,” Sayre said.
Project priorities
Another operator modernizing its senior living portfolio is Dallas-based Sonida Senior Living (NYSE: SNDA). Tech infrastructure like Wi-Fi and cable is a high priority, according to Reanae Clark, the company’s vice president of business development and acquisitions.
The Dallas-based operator has 96 communities, 84 of which it owns, with an average building age around 19 years old. Sonida’s growth strategy has centered on acquiring newer buildings, with the average age of its last 23 deals about 10 years old.
Sonida prioritizes kitchen upgrades inside of resident units, increasing the size of closet spaces and lighting.
“Lighting packages throughout the buildings are expensive and not necessarily something that you would think or notice until you see the before-and-after,” Clarke said.
Sonida is investing in outdoor spaces to foster wellness and better mental health among residents and staff. The company is into newer communities adding amenities like flexible spaces that Sonida can adapt and use to host fitness classes, therapy or yoga or games.
Roseville, Minnesota-based adds new elements to older communities like town centers to older buildings to create a more welcoming environment, Sayre said.
Sometimes, older communities carry unique designs that won’t work for residents. Drop ceilings for example are hard to conceal without “sticking out like a sore thumb,” Sayre said. That can quickly eat into project budgets and timelines.
The organization also builds into communities a communication center and club rooms, with a focus on multipurpose spaces that can flex from one use to another.
‘The purse is only so big’
Senior living operators must balance the cost of renovations with affordable resident rates – too high a price tag and a community might have to charge higher and unaffordable rates to make ends meet.
Sonida’s invests in the range of $1 million on a typical renovation of a decade-old building, excluding work to apartments. Presbyterian Homes & Services budgets up to $20,000 per door in common areas and up to $30,000 per door for apartment renovations, with a focus on long-lasting upgrades, such as removing carpeting from common areas.
Even a quick renovation in a community that involves “light touch ups” and fresh paint costs around $350,000, Sayre said.
“That purse is only so big. As construction costs go up, there’s only so many ways we can dice up what money we have available as a result,” Sayre said.
To help preserve as much of its renovation budget as possible, the operator focuses on accuracy and employs practices meant to be consistent, repeatable, impactful, simple and predictable, according to Sayre. By doing so, it allows renovations to occur at a regular cadence.
To help stretch its renovation dollars, Sonida looks to buy communities that need similar renovations in bulk, and it isn’t afraid to put specific amenities on hold to maintain a budget.
Clarke recommends other operators calculate project costs and weigh those against a project’s ultimate goal, whether that is to sell the community within a few years, turn it around or own it long-term. Because Sonida owns 84 of its communities, it makes decisions based on the long-term value it can get from the community.
“It’s really a math equation of what, how much can we spend, and what do we think that we’re going to get in return,” Clarke said. “We’re a long term holder, so we know that what we don’t fix today, is only going to hurt us tomorrow.”
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