Senior living development is nearly frozen in the U.S. in 2025. But some companies have bucked that trend in Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland.
The senior living industry added just 809 new units in the second quarter of 2025, representing less than 1% inventory growth compared to the same period in 2024. That total represents the lowest level of construction NIC has reported since its researchers began tracking the data 20 years ago.
More than half of the 140 primary and secondary markets NIC tracks, 56%, recorded no new construction projects at the end of the third quarter. Eight markets, including San Antonio, San Diego and Pittsburgh, have fewer senior housing units this year compared to last year.
Washington, D.C., stood out this year as construction projects there added around 5.3% of its total inventory in 2025.
“It’s all relative, because there’s not a whole lot happening anywhere, but that’s one of the more active markets throughout the country,” Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at NIC, told Senior Housing News.
The D.C. area, which includes Arlington, Virginia, and Bethesda, Maryland, is home to many aging older adults, including with government and military pensions that can help them pay for senior living in the years ahead. That’s why it’s a target for companies including McLean, Virginia-based Sunrise Senior Living and Carlsbad, California-based Kisco Senior Living.
“What’s especially attractive for Sunrise is the range of opportunities across D.C. and Northern Virginia,” Kroskin told Senior Housing News. “This isn’t a one-size-fits-all region for us,” Philip Kroskin, head of real estate and senior vice president of investments at Sunrise, told SHN.
The D.C. opportunity
Senior living companies have targeted the D.C. area with a multitude of big projects in recent years. They include The Mather, which won the Senior Housing News Best CCRC Award in 2024, and Wagner Senior Residences, a new 54,000 square foot community.
Census data shows the metropolitan area around D.C., Virginia and Maryland, added 90,608 people between 2023 and 2024, ranking it among the fastest-growing metro areas in that time.
The area carries a rising number of older adults, affluent prospective residents with high average rates of education, a desire for wellness and good walkability with multiple public transit options – all market characteristics that appeal to organizations like Kisco Senior Living, according to Joe Whitehouse, senior vice president of development and construction.
“It’s really where Kisco is going these days,” Whitehouse said. “We’ve really been working more towards those complex urban development sites.”
Kisco opened its first community in the area, The Fitzgerald of Palisades in Northwest Washington D.C., in 2024. It has also acquired two other communities in the surrounding area, including The Preston of Rockville in Rockville, Maryland, and it is looking to develop an additional community as part of its Signature series for upper-end markets.
Sunrise is another company that sees a range of opportunities across the D.C. and northern Virginia, and it plans further development across the region, particularly in markets with lower levels of new development like Arlington, Virginia, Whitehouse said. While Sunrise is not looking for new-builds in Montgomery County, Maryland because of a “significant increase in new construction in recent years,” the company still is renovating and reinvesting in its communities in the area.
“We’re selective about where we lean in based on what’s happening locally and where we can bring something meaningfully different,” Kroskin said. “Many of our long-standing communities sit on absolutely prime real estate, and we’re seeing clear demand from seniors who want updated amenities while still staying close to family, friends and the neighborhoods they know.”
Ingleside has three communities around the D.C. metropolitan area, and has seen plenty of other projects coming out of the ground in the market, and sees the need for additional development despite the pressures from high capital and construction costs.
“I think if you’re not pulling the trigger as an operator, planning is critical at this point, because you’ve got to invest some dollars in entitlements and the approvals process, because that can really take a long time,” Jamie Spencer, chief finance officer and chief growth officer of Ingleside, said.
D.C. demand still hot
Despite a recent influx of new projects in the market, companies still have room for more growth in Washington D.C. But how and where they develop within it is shifting.
Ingleside is looking to expand on a “sliver of land” that it owns to add more units to ease pressure from its waitlists. The operator is also investing more in its back office and management company to work with other operators looking to be part of a multi-site organization and expand in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.
Companies are adding “surge of new IL/AL projects” in Montgomery County, Maryland, leading Sunrise to look elsewhere for ground-up development.
“Where we do lean in is in submarkets with healthier supply-demand balance and stronger repositioning opportunities, especially in Northern Virginia,” Kroskin said. “We stay focused on individual neighborhoods and zip codes, and when we see an area like Arlington with limited new supply over time and strong aging demand, we view that as a place where seniors may be underserved and Sunrise can bring something needed.”
Kisco is looking to leverage its experience operating within the market, but is still eying other markets to grow in such as Houston, Boston and in Nevada. The operator is in the process of building another community in the Washington D.C. metro, but the process is long and complicated. The organization’s 200-unit independent living and assisted living community under construction there likely won’t open its doors for another four to five years.
Despite the challenges of building and the high barriers to entry, Whitehouse said developing in the area is worth it.
“Senior housing is a really welcomed use in the area,” he said. “They’re underserved. They really don’t place a huge burden on a community. From a community standpoint, they get a lot out of it without having to provide a lot, in a sense.”
And despite the competition, filling communities in the area doesn’t pose much of a problem. When Kisco opened the discovery center for Carnegie at Washingtonian Center community in Gaithersburg, Maryland two years out from opening, it had over 100 signups within the first 100 days.
While others may go where development may be more limited, Sunrise is looking to enhance its strengths in the area and remain selective in how it continues to grow.
“Some developers chase big greenfield sites in high-traffic areas, but we think this market is one where Sunrise’s strength – close, one-on-one relationships with residents and tight connections to local communities – really shines,” Kroskin said. “We’re not looking to add inventory across the board or a set number of new units in the area. We’ll stay selective. Growing where demand supports it and reinvesting where upgrades create the most value.”
