Senior boom

If this winter's bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 75 is any indication, business should be good for Dale Watchowski, president and CEO of Redico.

Indeed, Watchowski says seasonal residents from Michigan have been flocking to Southwest Florida in search of warm weather — and maybe a place to live. Redico's affiliated company, American House Senior Living Communities, is building two communities on the Gulf Coast and more are on the way in case snowbirds don't want to drive back.

American House has been building and operating senior-living communities in Michigan for years. “They know the brand very well,” Watchowski says of his new Florida customers.

So the move to expand the American House brand to Florida was a logical conclusion. “It's that population movement down I-75,” Watchowski says.

But instead of remaining snowbirds, a term that refers to seasonal residents who migrate south for the winter and north for the summer, more elderly northerners are choosing to move permanently to Florida. “People are staying because they like the lifestyle,” Watchowski says.

Indeed, the founder of American House, Bob Gillette, lives in Bonita Springs near where the company is building a $40 million senior-housing community called American House Coconut Point.

Although he's a native of Michigan, Watchowski is no stranger to Southwest Florida, either. His parents purchased a home on Marco Island in the 1970s and he vacationed here frequently. In addition, Redico was a partner with Bonita Springs-based developer Todd Gates during the boom of the last decade.

Based in Southfield, Mich., Redico has a long history in commercial real estate. Since he joined the company in 2002, Watchowski has grown the company's value to more than $1 billion encompassing nearly 17 million square feet of commercial space. “American House was a business we came into about seven years ago,” he says. “We started with 13 communities in Michigan.”

But American House joins a crowded field in Florida, a point that Watchowski readily acknowledges. “Anybody who's building apartments is thinking about senior living,” he says.

Part of the recent growth in senior housing has to do with capital markets reacting to strong demand and the fact that little construction has occurred since the last decade. “There is financing available for quality operators,” Watchowski says. “It's an asset class that's somewhat recession proof.”

But Watchowski isn't worried about overbuilding. “The financial markets will govern the growth, and we hope that'll be the case here,” he says.

As evidence of demand, this is the second community Redico is developing in Bonita Springs. The first community, American House Bonita Springs, is nearly completed and it already has a waiting list even though Watchowski expected absorption to take three years.

In addition to the two communities in Bonita Springs, American House has acquired land near Daniels and Metro parkways in Fort Myers for a 120-unit complex near Gulf Coast Medical Center hospital. The company also has a contract for an undisclosed location in Tampa and it's scouting sites in Naples. “We're exploring other markets,” Watchowski hints.

Follow Jean Gruss on Twitter @JeanGruss