Landmark Going In On Senior Housing
An Athens firm best known for housing college students is about to invest in housing for a different demographic: seniors.
Landmark Properties is expanding into the senior housing sector through ground-up development and acquisitions, the company announced in a press release.
The senior housing industry is facing a surge of demand from baby boomers and a lack of new development, creating an environment ripe for developers and investors.
“Senior housing sits at an attractive inflection point, having made a meaningful recovery from a unique black swan event and now exhibiting a pronounced supply‑demand imbalance,” Landmark President Walt Templin said in the release. “This dynamic creates a compelling entry point for Landmark to leverage its vertically integrated platform and expand its high-quality residential communities into the senior housing sector.”
The company did not identify specific developments or planned acquisitions in its pipeline in the release. It also did not return requests for comment.
Landmark tapped Shashank Goel, a former Harrison Street assistant vice president, to head its senior housing investment management platform. Goel wrote a 2024 paper for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care highlighting the opportunities to invest in senior housing because of stalled lease-up at some properties and a wealth of other properties with pending debt maturities.
Landmark is best known for its student housing and multifamily empire, which includes brands The Mark, Metropolitan and The Standard.
In Metro Atlanta, Landmark’s projects include the 835-bed The Legacy at Centennial, located near Georgia State University; the 799-bed The Mark Atlanta, marketed to students from GSU, Georgia Tech and SCAD Atlanta; and The Standard Atlanta, a 765-bed student housing tower off Spring Street in Midtown.
The firm has more than $15B in assets under management, with 115 residential communities and 72,000 beds.
“Senior housing represents a natural evolution of our residential-focused continuum,” Landmark CEO Wes Rogers said in the release.
It can be difficult for a traditional multifamily developer to jump into senior housing, especially given that operations can be as different as night and day, Active Senior Cos. CEO Paul Aase told Bisnow.
With Landmark’s capital backing and Goel’s decadelong senior housing experience, however, Aase said the firm is likely to make a successful transition.
“They’re going to be just fine. They know what they’re doing, and they’re extremely well capitalized,” he said.
