Developers and investors seek land for 'senior living' complexes on the Costa del Sol

One of these is a focus on senior living projects, a new residential concept designed for pensioners who want to be independent but have relevant facilities close at hand, and developers and investors are focusing on the Costa del Sol as the ideal location for this type of residential complex.

“We are looking for sites between Sotogrande and Malaga city for senior living projects,” Borja Martiarena, the director of Real Estate Investment Banking for the CBRE consultancy, told SUR.

One senior living initiative is already underway in Estepona with The Flag, a complex built by a German group and consisting of 78 homes which can be rented from 2,400 euros a month. The complex will have a restaurant, gymnasium, sauna and swimming pool and should be ready by next spring. There are similar projects in the Axarquía region, although in that case they are housing cooperatives.

“We believe there is a gigantic opportunity for senior living projects; there are more than two million people aged 65 plus in Spain and that will multiply by 1.6 in the next 30 years,” Martiarena said.

CBRE calculates that the average rent for a home in a senior living complex will be around 2,000 or 2,200 euros a month “because it is a quality product”. The complexes normally have between 150 and 200 homes, each between 50 and 60 square metres in size,” and communal facilities, but they are designed for people who are fully independent. “It gives them the chance to live among a community of people who want to be active and have plenty of company around as they get older,” Martiarena said.