Karen Anderson sets the vision that impels Lend Lease Senior Living to provide “good quality residential environments” for seniors. With a Bachelor’s and an MBA from Yale University, Karen has been the driving force behind her company for five years.
Lend Lease Senior Living focuses primarily on congregate housing, but also works with assisted living properties. The company originates deals in the senior living business, finds new developments and acquisitions, deals on behalf of institutional capital and operates those investments through the Cordia Senior Living operating company. Lend Lease also provides the traditional asset and portfolio management and reporting services to investors.
As of July 1, Lend Lease’s seniors housing portfolio will include more than 1,000 units. “I spend time directly out at the portfolio, and whenever I visit a property I spend time with the residents,” Karen said.
Karen’s devotion for the residents in Lend Lease’s communities has given birth to the Accordia Program, a curriculum that focuses on five areas of wellness for residents, with spiritual, physical, intellectual, cultural and emotional aspects. “We are always adding new programs into our curriculum, and we will be working on enhancing and improving these programs [in the future],” she said.
With the Accordia Program, seniors can learn a new language, bulk up with strength training or listen to lectures on a variety of topics. The Accordia Expeditions Travel Program, which provides travel opportunities for seniors, has been added in the last 12 months. The program offers a certain number of travel opportunities per year and sends staff on the trips, which have included tours in Scotland and England, and cruises down the Mississippi River In the future, the company plans to continue the growth of its portfolio —”but at a steady rate,” Karen said. “We think the industry has suffered a little bit from growth that it was unable to absorb, so we’re probably looking at eight to 12 deals within the next 12 months, and looking to do that where we can deliver for both our investors and our residents.”