Life Care Services (LCS) recently announced it was breaking ground on the Clarendale of Schererville in Schererville, Indiana, the third “Clarendale” property for LCS and construction partner Ryan Companies. The community will feature 177 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care at a cost of $40 million, or $226,000 per unit, to build. The two other “Clarendale” properties are located in Illinois: a 186-unit community in Algonquin and a 156-unit community in Mokena. While the newest property will be ready to open in spring 2017, it will not be short on company. There has been plenty of building going on in the state of Indiana, particularly in the Gary and Indianapolis markets, with a total investment of about $427 million in the last two years (including all levels of acuity) in just those two metro areas. And according to NIC MAP® data, Indianapolis is one of the faster growing markets for assisted living, with a construction versus inventory ratio of 8.6% (Gary was not included in the 99 MSAs).

Taking a look at development costs for majority-AL communities in those markets, it costs about the same to build in Gary as in Indianapolis ($178,900 per unit compared to $176,300 per unit, respectively). However, on the majority-skilled nursing side, it was more expensive to build in the capital city than in Gary ($178,300 per unit compared to $165,800 per unit, respectively). Driven in large part by Mainstreet, but also including developers like Trilogy Health Services and Spectrum Retirement Communities, Indiana’s seniors housing and care market is certainly booming.