Conceptualize project
- Identify the financial and nonfinancial goals of the academic host.
- What facilities are required to attract prospective residents?
- What amenities that are valuable to both residents and the rest of the
academic community can be incorporated into the project? [Examples: faculty
club,
classroom space, conference facility, hotel, housing for non-seniors.]
Financial feasibility analysis
- Project financial viability of project under a variety of scenarios.
- Negotiate allocation of benefits, fees and profits among the participating
constituencies in a project.
Financing
We do not require any significant capital investment by
academic partners, although they always have the option of investing in our
projects. Campus
Continuum takes on the responsibility for arranging financing.
Market assessment
- Demographic and competitor analyses designed to assess market potential.
- On-line
and mailed surveys, and focus groups designed to measure consumer interest
and to identify physical and services amenities desired.
Taking into account both consumers’ and the school’s preferences,
the market assessment will indicate whether the project should be designed
as a 55+ Active Adult Community normally appealing to younger seniors, or
as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (including health care facilities),
targeted at older seniors—or as a customized hybrid of the two.
Real estate development
Campus Continuum coordinates RFPs to qualified real estate
developers and negotiates financial arrangements to maximize the benefits
to the school.
- Project management.
- Assemble and manage the project team (architect, builder, and
various consultants).
- Liaison between academic constituencies and project team.
- Public approvals and community relations.
- Manage the project through all required state and local permits
and approvals.
- Build consensus and political support among community
leaders.
Plan lifestyle program
What differentiates Campus Continuum communities from other
real estate projects targeted at seniors is the close link to a college or
university, and the lifestyle offered. Program planning for success includes:
- Working with the academic host to develop a flexible
educational infrastructure which will meet the evolving continuing education
interests of residents.
- Coordinating with other local academic and cultural
institutions (for example, a symphony and an art museum) to increase
the variety of programs offered
to residents, and to draw on their affiliated constituencies for prospective
residents.
- Appointing a Dean of Senior Students to act as a liaison
with the school and to coordinate volunteer opportunities on and off campus.
- Arranging
group travel opportunities, and outings to cultural and sporting events.
- Preparing
the school’s faculty and students to welcome a new type
of campus resident--one whose language and values may differ from the
rest of the student body.
- Creating a data base of resident experiences and interests
to facilitate cross-generational contacts – such as career advisory
roles, tutoring and networking opportunities.
Marketing
A percentage of residences must be pre-sold to obtain
construction financing. Campus Continuum uses a comprehensive, integrated
marketing approach,
typically employing:
- Direct mail and email.
- Web site.
- PR.
- Print advertising.
- Electronic virtual images that provide the “look
and feel” of
physical spaces, even before a shovel is placed in the ground.
- Marketing office
with model unit, site model, illustrations and literature.
- Road shows, with
pictures and personnel to present, explain, and answer questions.
- Well trained,
courteous on-site sales personnel.
Campus Continuum is also responsible for post-construction
marketing and for marketing resales, with the goal of maintaining the character
of
the community as a social, learning-oriented, residential community that
complements the university.
On-going general management of community
- Management of the lifestyle services – social,
academic, volunteer, dining, housekeeping, maintenance, transportation,
and wellness.
- Property management – buildings and grounds.
Networking among collegiate senior communities
Campus Continuum conducts research aimed at better understanding
the determinants of success (and lack thereof) among college-affiliated
senior communities. Success is measured in terms of various metrics including:
- Resident satisfaction.
- Student satisfaction.
- Faculty satisfaction.
- Financial and nonfinancial benefits
to the school.
In addition, we are building relationships with other college and resort
communities interested in forming a time-share network.
Consulting to colleges and developers
We provide consulting services to colleges that are considering
whether and how to enter the retirement community marketplace.
Campus Continuum
also works with developers that seek assistance from our experienced team
to help them bring their college-affiliated projects to
successful fruition. We welcome partnership arrangements.
