Senior communities bulk up medical care

Adding brand-name health services is lucrative strategy, builders find

When Ned Cooper was looking for a place to retire, the former Navy officer didn't want to just sit and watch the grass grow.

He wanted to be sure quality medical care was close by and that he could work out regularly at a decent gym.

He picked Galloway Ridge at Fearrington Village near Pittsboro. The deciding factor: Duke Center for Living at Fearrington and its affiliation with Duke Health System. "That fact that the Duke name is on it gives you a little confidence," said Cooper, 79.

That kind of thinking is why more real estate developers are partnering with major health systems to develop and manage senior-living communities that have on-site medical care and fitness centers.

The senior population in Wake County alone is expected to nearly double to 120,000 by 2020, according to state calculations. As more people are drawn to the area, already seen as a retirement mecca, facilities that can co-market themselves with prominent names in medical care and research are more likely to attract affluent retirees.

"It's like getting a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, and that by itself is of enormous value," said Bob Lippard, head of senior living for Drucker & Falk, one of the biggest Triangle multifamily property developers. Drucker & Falk is behind Galloway Ridge, which includes the Duke Center for Living and a separate on-site primary-care facility. It also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in partnerships with Presbyterian Hospital and Sentara Healthcare.

Lippard said his company is close to signing its third deal with Duke, this time to design and operate a 10,000-square-foot fitness center and on-site primary-care clinic at Corbinton, a senior-living community planned in Hillsborough.

The Corbinton community would cover about 14 acres and include 227 residences with 18 duplexes, 22 cottages and 187 apartments. Duke would provide a full-time medical director for independent and continuing-care residents, home-health and hospice services and possibly rehabilitation and pharmacy services.

Senior communities with health facilities aren't new. Begun using Quaker values more than a century ago, many centers have been run by churches and nonprofit groups. The latest twist is that private-sector dollars are flowing into the concept as for-profit developers and medical systems look to tap an expanding market of affluent retirees.

Entrance fees for upscale senior communities range from about $300,000 to nearly $1 million, plus $3,000 to $5,000 per month per couple. But these retirees are willing to pay a premium for dining, entertainment, high-speed Internet and preventive medical care.

This is especially true in the Triangle, where wealthy seniors are drawn by the extensive university and hospital systems. Most upscale continuing-care retirement communities, including the Galloway, have waiting lists.

Cooper's instincts about Galloway proved right. He was ill with a spinal infection this year. For his diagnosis, he took a half-hour drive to Duke Hospital, already connected through the on-site facilities. When he was laid up in the clinic, it was at least convenient.

"My wife would just walk over to see me," he said. Now recovered, he's back to working out in the 20,000-square-foot gym.

It's a potent marketing strategy, said John Kane, who struck a similar deal with Duke to develop and manage health services at the $140 million Cardinal at North Hills in Raleigh. That development, which could break ground early next year, will have its own 20,000-square-foot Duke Center for Living.

"It's about providing active senior communities with gracious clubhouses, multiple dining venues and services," he said. "A big part of services is health care."

Getting clearance for such a project requires costly marketing studies and adhering to insurance department regulations. But it's still worth it, Kane said.

Similar thinking was behind the Cedars, a continuing-care retirement community opened in Chapel Hill in 2004. Project developer Roger Perry partnered with Life Care Services to manage the community and provide on-site medical care.

"It's all a function of an aging population," he said. "This is a business with a market that needs to be satisfied."