WEST HARTFORD — When the independent and assisted living facility Hoffman SummerWood recently announced it would be closing in September, owners attributed its high vacancy rate to an independent living market that they said has changed significantly in recent years.
Its impending closure marked the third senior living facility to close in West Hartford over the last few years, following the recent shutterings of the neighboring Hughes Health and Rehabilitation nursing home and Holiday Retirement, an independent living facility. Beyond that, other senior living facilities in the state could soon face closures, including two Bristol nursing homes owned by Athena Health Care.
The kinds of living opportunities for Connecticut's older residents vary greatly — from independent living communities where residents retain as much freedom as they might have at their previous home to other facilities, such as nursing homes, where residents need frequent care.
More For You
But experts in the field see these facility closures and changing trends — and a very different demographic of older adults wanting to age in place — as having an impact on what the future of senior living might look like in the state.
Mag Morelli, the president of LeadingAge CT — which represents more than 130 nonprofits that provide services to older adults and disabled individuals — said today's older adults at that first step of moving out of their home and downsizing are looking for a community to be part of.
"They are looking for choice," Morelli said. "They want an opportunity to choose their apartment, choose their colors and choose a community to live in. They’re looking for space. They’re downsizing — but not too much. They’re active, so they want to have access to things like pickleball or hiking."
Morelli said closures like Hoffman SummerWood's can be difficult for the tenants who had planned to live there for as long as possible.
"It’s heartbreaking to see any of these buildings close because its somebody’s home," Morelli said. "It's a place someone is calling home. Those high quality providers... we want to help sustain them. We just really have to look at making sure we’re supporting these entities."
More options needed
Kevin Ryan, an 81-year-old West Hartford resident who for the last few years has been advocating for more senior housing options in town, said today's older adults are aging differently, leading to new desires and possibly less demand for certain services older adults might eventually need. And options outside of their home aren't entirely appealing for that age group.
"The emerging older adults are a lot healthier and they want to age in place — including myself," Ryan said. "As long as I can do it, I like my two-car garage and the alternatives out there don't offer the same amenities. I think that's where the glitch is right now."
A lot of it, Ryan said, is likely wrapped up in Connecticut's housing crisis.
His demographic, which is used to home ownership and not renting, aren't finding suitable and appealing opportunities to downsize in their own communities. In turn, that means the single-family housing market isn't recycling down to younger families. He said more housing for seniors needs to be built.
"We’re not building enough age-appropriate housing that would be attractive enough to lure people out of their homes," Ryan said. "We’re really pushing on what we call the missing middle. We are not building an appropriate alternatives for people who want to stay in town."
Mairead Painter, the state's long-term care ombudsman, said Hoffman SummerWood's closure was "concerning."
"Seeing a community housing complex that supports older adults living independently close is concerning," Painter said. "We want to see that area grow, not get reduced."
Painter said she's been tracking trends over the last two decades signal a need for more options in the retirement and healthcare markets.
"We have heard over the past 15 or 20 years that individuals really don't want to go into the same type of long term care setting we saw in the 70s, 80s or 90s," Painter said. "They want to stay in their own home or a less restrictive environment. People are living longer, but they're not choosing the same settings. We need to have some other options."
Painter said any new senior housing concepts should be integrated, adding that intergenerational living is more popular now. One idea is recently proposed legislation that would lift the nursing home bed moratorium and allow for small care homes — maybe big enough for six to 15 people — to be opened.
"We want it really integrated into society," Painter said. "Those are the things we are looking for in the types of housing."
Nursing home closures
Morelli said she also shares some concern over recent nursing home closures, including a recent closing in Waterbury and the proposed closings of the two in Bristol, which the Bristol Press recently said the state hasn't made its final decision on.
"We’re getting seriously close to not having enough nursing home beds," Morelli said. "You want beds near where your loved ones are. You want beds in every community. When you need it, you need it. You can't wait around — you need a bed. There is a concern."
Morelli thinks the nursing home industry still hasn't recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis she said the industry entered with problems already.
"We entered COVID with a workforce shortage," Morelli said. "We knew we needed more nurses. During COVID, you couldn't have found a more dedicated workforce. But then a lot of people were burnt out. You saw people leaving after COVID and we just never had been able to increase our supply. It exacerbated a workforce crisis."
Similarly, the pandemic impacted nursing home resident counts, too. While nursing homes remain an emergency option, people might now delay when they actually choose to move into one — with many opting to bring those kinds of services into their own homes instead.
"What happened is a lot of organizations and campuses took a hit during COVID," Morelli said. "As people left, people weren't moving in during COVID. It takes a long time to recover from that. We’re just kind of recovering now."
Demand and growth
Chris Carter, the president of the Connecticut Assisted Living Association, said he views Hoffman SummerWood's closure as an "aberration" in the assisted living sector, which he said has growth in its future. He can only recall one other recent closure — One MacDonough Place in Middletown.
"Assisted living is a growing industry," Carter said, adding that it serves a different type of client than a nursing home might. "This product is not anywhere near maturation. The one size fits all cookie cutter approach doesn't work. That's why you see skilled nursing facilities close."
Carter said he would like to see more alternatives in the sector, referencing how some colleges in other states have created university-based retirement communities that offer educational opportunities on top of living.
In West Hartford, plans at the former University of Connecticut campus are calling for the addition of an assisted living facility along with multifamily housing and retail uses.
And West Hartford Fellowship Housing — which doesn't offer its own healthcare services to residents — is investing in its community, which caters to adults with disabilities and anyone over the age of 62 by renovating and expanding its campus.
Mark Garilli, their executive director, said new trends in senior living — including the addition of technology — are being looped into their new construction.
"The demographics are changing," he said. "Our average age is around 74. They're more independent. In the new development, affordability, safety and security is top of mind for them and ease of mobility and opportunity to stay with us throughout whatever challenges aging might come along with them."
Garilli thinks as new generations age into needing the kind of care assisted living or independent living facilities can offer, that the expectations of what's needed and wanted by them will change. It's their challenge, as providers, to now cater to that.
"The age 75 plusers... in the next decade, there’s going to be a whole lot more of them," Garilli said. "Their expectations are very different. Those that are watching the trends are taking a deliberate shift in investing how they attract folks to their communities down the road. I think it does really come to offering choice, more amenities and that integrated technology."
March 31, 2025
Reporter
Michael Walsh is the editor of the West Hartford News. Previously, he worked for The Hartford Courant for nearly 10 years, covering West Hartford and the Farmington Valley, among other towns. He also loves horror movies, the band Phish and fast food restaurants. Michael can be reached at [email protected].