Insights following the 2025 NIC Spring Conference
Author: Laurie Schultz, Co-founder and Principal, Avenue and Viva Bene
Each year following NIC’s Spring Conference, I find myself with renewed energy and focus. This year’s theme, Changing the Value Proposition: Care & Housing for Older Adults, hit especially close to home for our team at Avenue.
It was my privilege to serve on a panel titled Adding Life to Years: Wellness, Connection, Health and Longevity in Active Adult along with esteemed colleagues including Dr. Piyush Gupta, CEO of Sevi Health. In introducing the session, NIC Co-Founder Bob Kramer conveyed that active adult is emerging as “the hottest new product type in today’s senior housing ecosphere.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Why Active Adult Living is the Next Big Thing
Traditionally, senior living has focused on providing care for individuals once they reach a point of necessity—whether via independent living, assisted living, memory care or skilled nursing. Alternatively, active adult communities prioritize:
- Community & Purpose – Encouraging social connections where with residents often suggest and lead activities, clubs and events.
- Wellness – Integrating wellness-focused offerings to encourage active lifestyles.
- Independence – Catering often to those wanting to sell a home but not ready for a retirement community.
Affordability must also be considered. By offering mid-market rental rates, the senior living industry addresses the needs of the “forgotten middle,” those who don’t qualify for subsidized housing but can’t afford traditional senior living options .
At Avenue, we’ve moved to an even newer active adult paradigm: intentional development of attainably priced 55+ multifamily rental communities that also incorporate preventive healthcare services. Called Viva Bene, this innovative model focuses not only on where people live, but also how they live. Instead of the “aging in place” in needs-based settings, individuals can “age well in place” — well into their older years in “wants-based environments.”
The Viva Bene Model: A Vision for Aging Well
Unlike any other active adult rental today, Viva Bene truly supports well-being by offering care navigation and coordination. Medical professionals from Sevi Health serve as clinical concierges, helping residents navigate healthcare system complexities and ensuring a targeted focus on identifying, addressing and reducing risks associated with chronic conditions.
Viva Bene does not require residents to engage with Sevi Health. For those who do, Sevi Health bills insurance providers, all of which now cover these services. This includes Medicare Advantage plans which have shown to save taxpayer dollars, drive better health outcomes and have better preventive treatment.
Sevi’s professionals collaborate with Viva Bene lifestyle coordinators – and work with residents to plan and host offerings such as yoga, fitness classes and educational sessions such as healthy cooking, sleeping well and more. Amenities such as pools, pickleball courts and co-working hubs, are included in our affordable pricing model. Our first site, Viva Bene St. Peters near St. Louis, offers one-bedrooms starting at $1,600 per month.
Real Estate Investors Take Note
Active adult rental communities present an attractive and sustainable real estate investment model. Healthier renters are happier renters—and research shows they stay longer. On average, residents in multifamily buildings stay for about 27.5 months, while active adult renters remain in place for six to nine years. This brings new opportunity to investors who’ve held back on traditional multifamily investing or have hesitation about traditional senior living operating risk.
Additionally, the integration of healthcare services not only enhances resident well-being but also aligns with the healthcare industry’s shift toward value-based care, where preventive health management leads to better outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
The Time to Act is Now
As baby boomers redefine what it means to age, the senior housing industry must evolve to meet this generation’s changing expectations. We must rethink our approach to senior living.
By moving from reactive care to proactive wellness, we can ensure that older adults don’t just age but truly thrive. The Avenue team proudly positions Viva Bene at the forefront of this transformation. We invite industry leaders, investors, policymakers and others to join us in expanding the senior housing to prioritize healthy and vibrant living.
Ready to be part of the evolution in converged senior housing and healthcare? Contact Avenue today.