NIC Chats

Benchmark Senior Living CEO, founder, and chairman Tom Grape joins host Lisa McCracken to reflect on nearly four decades in senior housing and what the sector needs to get right next. 

Grape discusses how the sector has matured, from the growth of assisted living and memory care to better data, and where gaps remain, especially in consumer research and the potential for true customer segmentation. 

The conversation also covers: 

• Why capital and operator alignment has the opportunity to evolve, and how long-term partners can strengthen operating infrastructure 
• Advice for smaller and midsize operators looking for capital 
• Why Benchmark kept developing while many others paused 
• Benchmark's workforce culture, including its One Company Fund 

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

In this third episode of NIC's Active Adult podcast series, Christine Tarras, Director of Client Services at Greystar joins host Caroline Clapp to share insights on how operators can build resident programming that drives both satisfaction and NOI. 

Tarras draws on Greystar's experience as the largest active adult operator to explain the mindset shift multifamily operators need to make when entering the sector, from longer pre-leasing timelines to a deeper understanding of resident psychographics and demographics. The conversation covers how lifestyle programming should evolve across an asset's life cycle, how to design a calendar that serves residents spanning multiple decades in age, and the must-have amenity spaces and programming elements that support leasing velocity and retention. 

Hear what doesn't work — including programming that sounds compelling on paper but fails to gain resident traction — along with how to hire and retain a strong Lifestyle and Engagement Director, where technology fits into programming today, and how resident expectations may shift as younger cohorts enter the sector. Tarras closes with advice for operators launching their first active adult community. 

This episode offers a practical look at building lifestyle programming that residents value and capital partners can measure. Thank you to Treplus Property Management for sponsoring this episode. 

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

As part of NIC's Active Adult podcast series, host Caroline Clapp sits down with Kimberly Byrum, Managing Principal, Multifamily, at Zonda Advisory Group, to share insights on how developers and investors can use data to identify the right markets and product for active adult rental communities.

Byrum draws on Zonda's market study work to explain how demand sizing for active adult differs from conventional multifamily — shifting from jobs-driven econometric models to a more demographic-driven approach centered on financial characteristics, the existing pool of 55-plus renters, and mobility patterns. The conversation covers current supply and occupancy trends, how to track a market's development pipeline, and a framework for evaluating and ranking markets.

The episode also dives into product fundamentals — unit mix, optimal project size, and market penetration and saturation analysis — along with which amenities deliver the strongest ROI. Byrum wraps up with a candid look at common site-selection mistakes and where she sees underwriting standards heading as the sector matures.

This episode offers a practical, data-backed look at how to evaluate markets and products for active adult today. Thank you to Treplus Property Management for sponsoring this episode.

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

In this first episode in NIC's Active Adult podcast series, host Caroline Clapp sits down with Ben Burke, Managing Partner of Headwaters Group, a Denver-based developer and operator of active adult 55+ rental communities, to share insights on why active adult has become one of the most compelling investment theses in real estate today.

Burke draws on his background in traditional senior housing to explain what sets active adult apart — a hybrid model with senior-living-style resident engagement and retention paired with multifamily-style operating costs. The conversation covers the demographic tailwinds driving demand, current supply and occupancy trends, and how Headwaters approaches site selection.

The episode also dives into underwriting fundamentals — lease-up pace, stabilized occupancy, and rent growth assumptions — along with amenity strategy. Burke closes with a candid look at today's capital markets environment and the risks operators need to watch, from new supply to maintaining resident engagement as the sector matures.

Tune in for a grounded, data-informed conversation on where active adult stands today and where the opportunity is headed. Thank you to Treplus Property Management for sponsoring this episode. 

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

Host Lisa McCracken sits down with Julie Robinson and Andrew Wantoch of Clarion Partners — a roughly $70 billion private investment manager — to talk about their growing commitment to senior housing. The duo shares how Clarion approaches the sector with intention: from market-level labor analysis and purpose-built, private-pay asset selection to the "yellow flag" philosophy that guides their operator diligence process.

The conversation gets candid on what true capital-operator alignment looks like, why staff compensation structures matter all the way down to the department head level, and what questions operators should be asking their capital partners before signing on. Julie and Andrew also weigh in on technology expectations and share their long-term vision for Clarion's role in the senior housing space.

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

Live from the NIC Spring Conference in Nashville, this episode of NIC Chats brings together Procare HR founder and CEO, Brett Landrum, and Go Icon CEO, Ryan Galea, to explore how aligning staff and resident engagement can transform outcomes in senior living communities. Host Lisa McCracken, NIC’s head of research & analytics, moderates a candid conversation about rethinking turnover as an engagement challenge, the power of real-time data, and the promise of connecting the employee and resident journey on a single platform.

• Learn how Procare HR’s tech-enabled HR services and Go Icon’s engagement and communication tools have the potential to work together to boost employee sentiment, increase “engagement density,” and directly link the staff experience to resident and family satisfaction.
• Hear why traditional, twice-a-year surveys fall short and how pulse surveys, multi-channel feedback, and gamified recognition apps can support daily, incremental improvements at the community level.

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

Host Lisa McCracken welcomes Courtney Nickels, managing director and COO of healthcare at Artemis Real Estate Partners, for a candid conversation about why senior housing is now center stage for investors heading into 2026. Drawing on her career-long focus in healthcare real estate, Nickels discusses how accelerating demand and historically low new supply are driving strong rent growth, occupancy above pre-COVID levels, and expectations for continued double-digit NOI growth—even as labor remains the top headwind to watch.​ 

The discussion also explores the wave of new equity and debt capital coming into seniors housing, rising competition for deals, and what it takes to succeed in an operationally complex, local, and people-centric business. Nickels outlines Artemis’ disciplined, scalable strategy across the capital stack and care continuum—from active adult through assisted living and memory care—with an emphasis on private-pay, continuum of care communities, strong local and regional operator partnerships, selective development, and maintaining appropriate risk-adjusted returns in what she believes will be a defining year for the sector. 

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

Senior housing lending may be experiencing significant momentum, but seasoned lender and NIC Board member, Imran Javaid, brings a disciplined perspective to today’s capital markets. In this episode, Head of Research & Analytics, Lisa McCracken, talks with Javaid, Managing Director for BMO’s U.S. for-profit healthcare team, about the sector’s sharp turnaround from the COVID doldrums, why robust debt availability has not translated into a construction boom, and how cautious assumptions around cap rates, exit strategies, and rent levels are shaping both senior housing and skilled nursing finance.

They also discuss the influx of new capital, including family offices, and why aligning with the right operator and product in each market remains critical in a still-fragmented industry where most operators manage 10 or fewer communities. Along the way, Javaid offers practical advice for emerging operators on building credibility with lenders and equity partners, reflects on lessons from COVID, and explains what needs to change before construction lending meaningfully loosens and new development accelerates.

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

Vikas Gupta, chief investment officer of Omega Healthcare Investors, joins the NIC Chats podcast to explore why he believes it “feels like one of the best times” for skilled nursing and senior housing. Drawing on more than two decades in the industry, Gupta discusses occupancy and reimbursement tailwinds, lingering labor and staffing mandate pressures, and why it’s a good—if still challenging—time to be a skilled nursing operator or investor. 

He explains Omega’s shift into RIDEA for senior housing, why they are open to turnaround opportunities and “good bones” buildings, and how the team vets and “tiers” operators based on market fit, performance, and financial sophistication. The conversation also covers Omega’s capital structure, growth in UK care homes, selective development and replacement projects in the U.S. and Canada, and Gupta’s bullish but cautious outlook for 2026 as an energized sector moves further past COVID and into its next cycle. 

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We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. 

Explore how active adult rental communities are evolving and filling the needs for both older adults and investors in this episode of NIC Chats. NIC Senior Principal, Caroline Clapp, speaks with Zach Bowyer, head of living sectors at Cushman & Wakefield about today's growth of active adult rental properties — a sector that combines the lifestyle-driven amenities of modern multifamily with the demographic momentum of senior living.

Learn why investor demand for active adult is rising, the value these properties bring for baby boomers seeking flexibility and wellness-focused options, and how operational and regulatory risk profiles compare with traditional senior housing. 

Zach and Caroline examine active adult key valuation drivers, rent and occupancy trends, and the importance of lifestyle programming and community design. The episode also touches on cap rate compression, emerging brands, market fragmentation, and how active adult communities are positioned to meet the evolving expectations of both residents and investors in the years ahead.​

Want to join the conversation? Follow NIC on LinkedIn.

We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of NIC Chats by giving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.