Developing a Model for Medical Center Housing with Adam Ducker

In the ever-changing real estate markets, it is imperative to “look around the corner,” or to analyze the newest trends in the way people live, work, and play and to ask: what does it mean for people who invest in the built environment? At RCLCO, one of our driving objectives is to identify the changing ways that people consume real estate, and to help our clients alight on innovative solutions that creatively respond to these new realities.

An example of recent innovation in housing is the professionally managed student housing space. Barely a sub-asset class 10 years ago, student housing in North America is now an established and thriving business attracting institutional and international capital. Catering to a growing demographic with non-traditional housing needs, student housing developers figured out through hard work and careful research how to package a deliberate combination of amenities and services to appeal to its target market’s unique needs. Student housing operates under a completely unique business plan from conventional apartments, and for taking this departure and its related risks the industry pioneers have been handsomely rewarded.

So the question is: are there other growing populations that are underserved, or simply not served in the most convenient way, by their current housing options? One opportunity may be in our rapidly growing large medical centers—small cities really, populated not just by patients but by thousands of (in many cases highly transient) medical professionals, students, service businesses, and support staff. Is this a population that could benefit from a new flexible housing model for which they may be willing to pay a premium?

In this video, RCLCO Managing Director Adam Ducker discusses how innovations in student housing created new opportunities and whether housing our burgeoning medical center populations might be the next thing on the horizon.

RCLCO provides real estate economics, strategic planning, management consulting, litigation support, fiscal and economic impact analysis, and implementation services to real estate investors, developers, home builders, financial institutions, public agencies, and anchor institutions. Our real estate advisors help clients make the best decisions about real estate investment, repositioning, planning, and development.