Although developers are skilled at building senior living communities that satisfy basic residential and health care needs, and that provide programs and amenities to cater to a variety of lifestyles, creating authentic, home-like environments that feel instantaneously familiar for this younger cohort is far more challenging. Such nuanced characteristics are distinctions in the market and can greatly ease the transition into senior living communities, not only for individuals, regardless of acuity level, but also for their families.

The new ULI report explores how developers can find both profit and purpose by embracing the potential of existing buildings, illustrated through three case studies that generated tangible value for communities and investors alike.

Downtown Atlanta is experiencing nothing short of a major renaissance. Now, one of its most iconic addresses is being remade into a modern classic, thanks to the transformation of the former CNN Center.

A shuttered higher-education campus receives new life as housing for older adults while providing significant benefits to the surrounding community

The creation of public space from unused, underused, or unequally shared linear spaces in urban areas has been happening for a long time. Major reference points in the architectural and planning worlds are Boston’s Emerald Necklace, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (1878–1896); Freeway Park in Seattle (1972-1976); the Baltimore Inner Harbor (1963–1983); the Promenade Plantée in Paris (1987-1994); and the High Line in New York (2005–2019).

More than a century ago, the Baltimore waterfront was a working harbor. After a massive 1970s redevelopment that turned the area into the centerpiece of Baltimore’s tourism industry, the American Institute of Architects called it “one of the supreme achievements of large-scale urban design and development in U.S. history.” Yet it became insolvent in 2019. Key lessons learned here can prevent this cycle from repeating as we envision what the next 100 years might hold for the center of Charm City.

Existing properties get makeovers to provide sustainable options for vulnerable populations

By repurposing an underutilized hotel as student housing, San José State University ignites campus life and fuels a downtown resurgence

In the heart of London’s Covent Garden neighborhood, a complex of five Victorian-era structures—previously housing a seed merchant company, a brass and iron foundry, and a Nonconformist chapel, among other uses—have been restored and adapted into a single, cohesive office building with ground-floor retail and dining space. The three-year restoration preserved the property’s industrial heritage and provides flexibility to meet the needs of today’s workforce.

The transformation of Indianapolis’s historic Coca-Cola bottling plant into the Bottleworks District represents one of Indiana’s most ambitious adaptive use projects.