Cogir Senior Living Names New U.s. Leader, With Plans To Restart Development

Cogir Senior Living is embarking on new growth in the U.S. while executing on a planned leadership transition within its U.S.-based operating platform, Cogir USA.

President and CEO David Eskenazy has stepped into the role of vice chairman of the Cogir USA board of directors. Cogir USA COO Gottfried Ernst now serves as president and COO of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based provider, Cogir Real Estate CEO Mathieu Duguay told Senior Housing News.

“We can’t thank David enough for the support he has given us since 2021,” Duguay said during a meeting last week at the 2026 Spring NIC Conference in Nashville. “This plan was organized since Gottfried arrived in the company, and there’s been a tremendous impact in terms of the performance and the changes have been extraordinary.”

Monrtreal, Canada-based Cogir oversees approximately 300 properties in the U.S. and Canada. It has an ownership stake in about a quarter of the properties and manages the other communities through arrangements with landlords that include real estate investment trust (REIT) Welltower (NYSE: WELL).Through Cogir USA, the company oversees 45,000 units in the U.S. Last November, Cogir acquired Epoch Senior Living’s 16-community management platform, which it noted marked an “important step” in its U.S. growth plans.

In 2026, Cogir is poised to restart its development pipeline in the U.S., targeting new projects within or near master-planned developments with the goal of expanding from 17 states to potentially 24 states in the future, according to Duguay.

This year is also a year of “operational execution” and one of “closing the gap” across the company’s portfolio to further improve operating performance and resident satisfaction, Ernst told SHN.

Growth taking shape following Epoch acquisition

Cogir’s acquisition included Epoch’s property management and development platforms made possible through Cogir’s partnership with Welltower.

The acquisition made sense for Cogir to grow in the Northeast and specifically gain a foothold in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. The existing Epoch staff have remained in place following the acquisition, with management and operations to be run independently as part of maintaining autonomy due to past success.

“We were in the mid-Atlantic already, and we had the ambition to start senior housing construction and development in the U.S. like we’ve been doing in Canada for the last 15 years or so,” Duguay said.

Toledo, Ohio-based REIT Welltower helped fuel Cogir’s business to another level since the two companies partnered in 2015. Today, Cogir operates 129 properties for Welltower and is part of a group of three senior living providers in Welltower’s RIDEA 6.0 plan with Oakmont and StoryPoint Group. In 2025, Welltower transitioned 25 properties from Chartwell Living to Cogir.

The acquisition of the Epoch management and development platform helps give Cogir the “firepower” it needs in order to grow, Duguay said. The company plans to form a U.S.-focused development group designing next-generation communities led by Epoch Senior Living Chief Investment Officer Michael Gordon.

Duguay noted that another factor leading to the acquisition was Epoch’s prestige in managing its independent living brand, known as Waterstone, and its Bridges memory care communities.

Epoch’s Waterstone independent living brand is also helping shape future development in the U.S.

“We want to leverage that during our future development,” Duguay said.

With the Epoch deal at its back, Cogir is actively looking at development sites with future projects to be part of master-planned developments across the U.S., spanning eastern and western coastal markets, while excluding the Midwest. For example, Cogir is looking at expanding to Florida and Texas, two states with the largest total populations of adults over the age of 65 only behind California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Ideally we can work in states where we can build clusters and have local management teams that are very knowledgeable and strong about the market,” Duguay said. “We have a big scope right now where we are looking at.”

Having new communities within master-planned properties will help add amenities, value and services to prospective residents. Future developments could also be near or adjacent to active adult properties.

“We like the multi-generational aspect, and we want to be in the center of everything where there are amenities and retail,” Duguay said.

Future communities will have independent living, assisted living and memory care, along with cottages, spanning between 200 to 400 units in highly amenitized areas to promote intergenerational connections and promote quality of life.

2026 ‘all about operational execution’

In recent years, Cogir focused on strengthening its employee culture and building out a core leadership team, while also working on sales and marketing to spur operating performance.

“It’s about translating that into consistent, disciplined execution at the community level,” Ernst said. “This year is all about closing the gap and making sure that we’re fully aligned across every community.”

That gap can be closed through managing expenses and staffing challenges through profit and loss (P&L) statement optimization, Ernst said. To improve the resident experience, Cogir hired more culinary staff last year, a move underpinned the company’s “Signature Experience” hospitality program it also launched last year. Communities are audited across 10 service standards to ensure quality and standards across all properties.

Recent examples of the hospitality program include community upgrades like placemats with QR codes residents can scan to provide instant feedback and better lighting so they can more easily read menus. Cogir USA also recently launched the Cogir Foundation to increase philanthropic investments that allow its communities to give back in their local areas.

To support the hospitality program’s rollout, Ernst said Cogir continues to refine its recruitment to match cultural alignment in hiring. The company has updated how leaders interact with frontline staff, now hosting one-on-one weekly meetings to develop stronger relationships between departments and leadership. As part of the focus on recruitment, Cogir USA has reduced turnover from 80% to 60% last year. That’s been led by the stabilization of leadership by department leaders and executive directors, Ernst said.

As baby boomers enter communities, Ernst said Cogir is adapting along with other operators by adopting a 24-hour response rule from community staff as consumer expectations have changed, demanding quicker responses and more transparency on pricing. That transparency demand also extends to families that want to know more information about what their loved ones are up to in a community, Ernst added.

To adapt to a future shaped by technology, Ernst said operators must listen to customers, adapting units to be tech-enabled as residents are more tech-savvy. While improving the resident experience through technology, another opportunity lies in improving care coordination and care delivery through data analysis and new platforms to support clinical teams.

“This will be an ongoing change in terms of communication, activities and more products that are tech-oriented to create daily activities,” Ernst said. “The baby boomers are more informed, they’re more selective and they’re less tolerant of inconsistencies.”

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