Making Senior Housing Affordable

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Assisted Living Concepts of Portland, Ore., is in the vanguard of making seniors housing more affordable. The company's cost per unit ranges from $55,000 to $70,000, depending on the region of the country. Comparable space in the same regions is likely to be $90,000 to $120,000 per unit, says President and CEO Keren Brown Wilson. For each $10,000 of construction costs, it costs the consumer roughly $100 a month in rent or shelter cost, she says.

Yet, despite lower costs and rents, the single-occupancy facilities offer equipped kitchens, accessible bathrooms, and life-safety features such as voice-to-voice call systems.

To hold costs down, the company typically builds in …