United Properties Sees Longer Runway For Active Adult Growth In 2025

United Properties is expanding its Amira brand of senior living communities, initially with the addition of new active adult villas on the campus of a property first completed in 2023. But the company sees a runway for more growth beyond that.

United Properties is adding to its Amira Villas Minnetonka property in the Twin Cities area eight, three-story residential buildings with a total of 30 new villa units spanning between 1,570 and 2,255 square feet, some with private garages. In-room amenities include upscale finishes, private entryways, in-unit laundry, walk-in closets, kitchen islands, tile showers and flexible room space and oversized decks.

“We feel there’s opportunity for growth with the product that we deliver to the market and we feel we’re creating unique experiences not found through many other active adult opportunities in certain markets,” United Properties Vice President of Senior Living Development Dave Young told Senior Housing News. “The villas captured the balance between density of these larger units that the market is requesting.”

The Minnetonka community opened its doors in 2023 and quickly reached stabilization, according to Young. Originally, the company planned to add an extended stay hotel to an already owned parcel of land near the existing Amira-branded campus in Minnetonka. But those plans changed as the company sought to meet demands of prospects and their loved ones.

“We took the opportunity to pivot our business plan away from the hotel and created a unique concept with the villas,” Young said. “Some people want more space, some people are okay with multi-family, others are comfortable with the rental model and this is a hybrid approach to all of those facets that we see in the marketplace.”

Construction on the project was approved in August 2024 and broke ground in November with vertical construction expected to begin by the end of January ahead of a late 2025 opening.

Moving ahead, Young sees potential for future campus concepts that incorporate lower-acuity offerings like active adult villas into future projects. Young said United Properties is pursuing incorporation of a villa concept in Denver, Colorado.

“It’s something that we are excited to prove out as a concept,” Young added. “Established Amira communities don’t necessarily have additional land available to expand but moving forward, we’re excited to have an opportunity to incorporate this additional housing option within its product line.”

Since 2021, United Properties has “slowed down” on its pursuit of traditional continuum communities through its Amira Choice concept with more emphasis on future active adult development through the Amira brand, Young said. The latest Amira Choice senior living continuum community opened last year in Arvada, Colorado.

Great Lakes Management currently is the manager of United Properties’ active adult properties with Ebenezer Management Services managing the company’s Amira Choice senior living communities.

The pace of future growth in senior living for United Properties depends on broader economic factors that currently have slowed development across the industry, specifically in securing debt financing and the high cost of construction materials, Young said, but optimism remains.

“We feel it’s provided a niche in the market for an ever-growing demographic so we are continuing to pursue the Amira product in the Minnesota and Colorado markets,” Young said. “We’re definitely open to bringing the Amira brand to additional markets in the future.”

The post United Properties Sees Longer Runway for Active Adult Growth in 2025 appeared first on Senior Housing News.