10 Features Senior Housing Customers Value in their Apartment Design
During the previous ten years of my career in Senior Housing Marketing it was always such a shock to me to enter a beautiful community with a decked out lobby in which no expense was spared and from there to venture into the actual apartments and realize that this is where the VE (value engineering) savings were implemented. The space in which the residents will actually live! Most good sales representatives would spin that around to point out that the value of a community is for residents to spend the bulk of their time in the common areas socializing not in their apartments. To a degree this is certainly true, we do want the commons to beckon to the residents to venture out of their apartments and become involved in the events of the day. But should the resident apartments be made to pay the price? Can we as senior housing developers not find a way to achieve balance between the two while still keeping the project in budget?
During my time as an on-site marketing director I paid particularly close attention to the details that potential residents and residents pointed out as features they valued most in the apartments.
1. Rooms sized to house real furniture not dorm furniture. Residents love their things, let’s make room for them!
2. Storage that is generous. Drawers and pantries in kitchens, medicine cabinets or linen closets in baths, additional storage lockers for seasonal items that is temperature controlled.
3. Closets sized large enough for all of their clothes and lighted properly with easy access.
4. Appliances that are attractive, operate quietly, easy to use, and have all the creature comforts they are used to.
5. Doors and walls built to eliminate noise transference between rooms, apartments, and the exterior hallways.
6. Wiring for electrical, phone, and cable so that their furniture can be placed where they want it to be placed not just where the one outlet is located.
7. Emergency call systems that are discreet yet effective.
8. Natural light from large widows.
9. Patios or balconies whenever possible, not because they are used often but because it is their own private outdoor space.
10. Finish out that is also beautiful and functional while not breaking the bank.
I think if we pay special attention to these items as we are designing senior housing communities it will go a long way with future residents. The commons certainly need to WOW them but it is in visualizing living inside the apartment that solidifies their decision to make the move.
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