By 2030, 25% of the US population will be 65 or older. Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston are in the top six of the nation’s biggest metro markets for construction of independent living facilities for seniors, we learned at Bisnow’s Dallas Seniors Housing & Assisted Living Summit this week. (No matter what market you find seniors in, if it's a grocery market, they'll have too many items in the express checkout line.) When selecting a location for a new senior living facility, RJ Development Services prez Ron Hastie says its important to have medical facilities nearby as well as complementary facilities like assisted living or independent living properties.

Dallas has 77 properties with a total of 15,240 units, with another 554 under construction. Loeb Architects prez Zelma Loeb (left, with colleague Connie Adams) says the design of these new senior living facilities is evolving like single-family housing. The parallel: more demanding consumers. Today, people don’t want bare bones, they want all the bells and whistles, she says. Another key point: designing facilities that generate interaction among residents. By forcing people together more, they’re socializing, which improves their emotional well-being and physical health. (At this point, they have more fun than we do.)