With record attendance (again), the buzz continued to be positive, despite some looming concerns.

Well, what can I say after my 25th annual NIC conference? I could talk about the record number of attendees, the building, buying, investing and financing buzz. But did anyone notice, just one block from the hotel, the vacant lot for sale with banners waving in the wind, proclaiming “Senior Living Site Available.” I’m not kidding. People were there to do deals, make new contacts and expand existing ones, and for the newbies, to try to get a better understanding of the seniors housing and care sector. But the NIC organizers had a new program, called NIC Talks, and for this conference the theme was 2026 and what to expect. Of the 12 NIC talk speakers over two days, half were industry insiders and the other half were industry “disruptors.” One disruptor, Bill Thomas of the Eden Alternative and Green House, pretended he just landed from 2026, a time when there was just one nursing facility in the country with schoolchildren taking bus tours to see how their grandparents spent their last years. And he told the audience that what they are building now will be empty in 2026, because the boomers won’t want it. Pretty radical stuff for an industry conference when building is beginning to boom, so our hats are off to the planning committee for this level of openness.