Operators Experiment, Expand As Active Adult’s Big Moment Arrives 

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The active adult sector is immersed in an age wave in 2026 as operators experiment with new models and services.

Multiple companies are vying for a chance to leave their mark on the sector with different approaches. As the sector grows, I believe it’s stratifying into two main categories: communities and operators that see active adult as primarily senior housing and access to a slate of amenities and a lifestyle, and those that see active adult as something slightly closer to independent living, with meals and potentially other light services included for residents who want it.

Both types of active adult are meant to serve customers that want something new and different than what senior living operators have offered in the last couple of decades. Last week, I spoke to three active adult operators on stage at the Senior Housing News TRENDS Conference, and came away with that notion.

Another big takeaway was that there is not one correct way to serve active adult customers, and operators are fine-tuning their offerings for the people who live in their markets. All the while, the line between independent living and active adult is blurring in some communities.

Data shows this is a defining moment for active adult companies and operators, and what they do today will become a blueprint for the communities of tomorrow.

In this members-only SHN+ Update, I will analyze the recent panel I hosted and data about active adult to offer the following takeaways:

• The active adult sector is growing and has a long growth runway ahead 

• Operators are testing multiple models for serving their incoming residents 

• The coming years are important for active adult operators 

Active adult sector still coming into shape

Compared to the larger senior living sector, the active adult segment of senior housing is still relatively small, even while it has grown in size in recent quarters.

According to NIC MAP data, active adult communities are generally newer builds with a median age of less than 10 years old with a median unit count of 138 across the 880 properties it tracks. While this is comparable to the size of independent living in terms of size at 144 units, traditional independent living communities have a median age of 21 years and smaller units in comparison.

In the second quarter of 2026, U.S. active adult occupancy climbed 1.4% to reach an average of 92.6%, a 0.3% increase over the first quarter. That occupancy rate reflects that demand for active adult communities is still relatively high, and the relatively low penetration rates suggest there’s much more growth active adult operators can notch in the quarters ahead.

During the panel at TRENDS, I spoke with leaders of three active adult operators, all which have slightly different strategies for capturing incoming active adult demand. I was struck by how each company – Greystar, Treplus Communities and Vitality Living – has a slightly different strategy.

Greystar, the largest manager of active adult in the country, has multiple brands tailored to people with incomes ranging from the middle-market to the high-end. The company specializes in “lock-and-leave” style active adult communities where residents aren’t burdened by high rent and services they don’t use.

The Charleston, South Carolina-based company has a total of 163 properties, with an average age ranging from 72 to 82.

Treplus residents enjoy a similarly active adult lifestyle as Greystar’s, but the company differs in the physical makeup of its communities. Treplus communities are single-story homes with dedicated entrances and open layouts, and residents have access to clubhouses and spaces for working residents.

Vitality Living has standalone active adult properties, but the company also co-locates the product type with independent and assisted living in five communities. Notably, the company has leveraged its scale and added meal services for residents in those locations, setting it apart from other active adult companies that eschew food to keep their overheads low.

Other models for active adult include the Viva Bene brand – also managed by Greystar – that combines active adult services with preventative healthcare to keep residents well.

Food was an interesting point of divergence for all three companies on stage with me at TRENDS. Active adult operators across the country are still debating on whether the standard slate of active adult services should include any dining.

Treplus CEO Jane Arthur Roslovic said that while dining is important to residents, providing food services can add new costs for already price-conscious consumers, not to mention require an investment from the operator to make it work.

“When you start providing services, you’re independent living,” she said.

That’s a different philosophy than the one that Vitality Living takes. Unlike Treplus, Vitality has locations with other product types on the same campus, and it’s therefore not a stretch to share meal services among them.

Nathan Wetmore, senior director of real estate for active adult at Greystar, takes the view thatfood and beverage offerings, transportation and floor staff are the real differentiators between independent living and active adult. But Greystar isn’t afraid to explore merging the property types into something akin to “independent living light.” That’s a phrase that other leaders in the space, such as Clover CEO Michael Joseph, have used to describe their active adult models, too.

Active adult’s age wave is here

In 2026, the oldest baby boomers are turning 80, but the youngest ones are just 62. While the senior living industry is at the start of its exposure to the age wave, active adult is fully immersed in it.

Recent NIC MAP data showed that in 2026, people between the ages of 65 and 74 – the typical age profile of an active adult resident — represent the fastest-growing renter cohort in the country.

No doubt, that means the coming years are important for active adult operators to grow and evolve to meet those renters’ needs.

About 1,000 new units of active adult were added in the first half of 2026, according to NIC MAP data. That is well below recent years, when companies averaged 7,000 new active adult unit openings per year between 2023 and 2025.

But now is the time when active adult companies can and should experiment and expand for a new generation. To be clear, all three companies that joined me on stage at TRENDS are doing just that, and they are far from the only ones.

While I don’t think active adult companies want to move up the care continuum, I do think there is something they can learn from “independent living light” models or ones that offer certain IL components, like food. But as Roslovic said, I also think operators should approach these plans carefully so as not to upset the business model’s main appeal to residents.

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