Environments for Aging is kicking off its 2025 Senior Living Design Industry Predictions series with Cynthia Shonaiya, principal, senior living/affordable housing market sector leader, Hord Coplan Macht (Baltimore).
She shares her thoughts on what opportunities and challenges are ahead for the industry over the next 12 months, including meeting staffing needs and evolving services for independent living residents.
Environments for Aging: Post election, how might the regulatory environment change and what will that mean for our industry and the built environment?
Cynthia Shonaiya: Unclear. TBD. Everyone aspires to grow old. We all have parents. I believe aging to be a bipartisan issue.
EFA: Do you think the new administration’s policies will affect construction prices and labor—how? If so, what impact will that have on the senior living design sector?
Shonaiya: I am hopeful that a more reasonable immigration process will allow for the flow of skilled labor to meet the needs of the senior living industry. I am concerned that tariffs, if instituted, will have an escalatory impact on construction costs, but am also hopeful that interest rate adjustments will benefit the industry.
EFA: Where do you think the senior living design industry is heading in 2025?
Shonaiya: There will be continued innovation. We will see more access to à la carte services by independent living residents, which will mean they live differently in our communities and maybe have different demands on the services provided.
Food and beverage, housekeeping, healthcare, entertainment, etc. will continue to be peeled away from the traditional service package. Already from a design perspective we are seeing pressure on parking spaces and access control as more “outsiders” access residents.
EFA: What’s the biggest opportunity for change in the new year?
Shonaiya: The opportunity to reach out to new demographics and new client bases as senior living becomes more accessible and larger parts of the population continue to age.
The leading edge of the silver tsunami is upon us and all hands are needed “on deck.”
For more insights from industry leaders, read here.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Environments for Aging and can be reached at [email protected].