The COVID-19 pandemic increased the focus on health and wellness within senior living real estate portfolios. To help investors make decisions based on health data, investment management firm Harrison Street is partnering with the New York-based Center for Active Design, or CfAD, to implement the healthy building certification system Fitwel across its portfolio of more than 500 senior living, student housing, medical office and life sciences properties.
As a result of this expanded partnership, Harrison Street and Fitwel will have access to enhanced data sets from which to identify strategies for health and business optimization, the firms said Friday. Strategies for developing healthy buildings — which support the physical, psychological and social health and well-being of people in buildings and the built environment — have been shown to increase asset values. In fact, a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that leases in certified healthy buildings transact between 4.4% and 7.7% more per square foot than their nearby noncertified, nonregistered peers.
“The differentiated needs for healthy senior living environments in particular have been exacerbated in the current environment,” said Jill Brosig, managing director and chief impact officer at Harrison Street. “The insights gained from the data collected through Harrison Street’s expanded partnership with CfAD will empower us to further advance occupant health and increase the value of our senior housing communities.”
In 2019, Harrison Street and Fitwel collaborated to establish a senior housing scorecard for assisted living, independent living and memory care communities, with the goal of helping owners optimize the properties to promote the health and wellness of residents and employees. Select Harrison Street communities and senior living operating partners are participating in the prototype.
“The healthy building movement has steadily gained traction in recent years, but since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve experienced a dramatic increase in demand for certification at scale across entire portfolios of assets,” said Joanna Frank, president and CEO of CfAD. “Investment decisions can now be informed by health data to ensure environments are optimized for their occupants. Through our expanded partnership with Harrison Street, we will be better able to hone in on the strategies that support positive long-term health outcomes for seniors.”
