Inside the Bay Area’s resort-style senior living community boom

By Itay Hod

For most people, a five-star meal is reserved for birthdays, anniversaries, the kind of night you remember for the rest of your life.

For 87-year-old Donna Barker, it’s just dinner. 

Every evening, before she heads out, she makes herself a martini — shaken, not stirred — touches up her lipstick, and heads to her favorite spot in town. But Barker doesn’t hop in a rideshare. She just catches an elevator.

“Initially, I didn’t come here for the food, but you can’t drag me away from here now,” she said.

That’s because her favorite restaurant is smack dab in the middle of her retirement community, Villa Marin, and the menu is created by executive chef Ensan Wong, whose resume includes The French Laundry, one of the most exclusive kitchens in America.

“Here I found the satisfaction, the reward that you put a smile to them, meal after meal,” Wong said.

It’s called resort-style senior living: a new category of retirement communities built less like nursing homes and more like luxury cruise ships. A recent report shows the senior living market is expected to soar from $76 billion in 2026 to $102 billion by 2031.

“People are planning for this years in advance. The average courtship is three years,” Villa Marin CEO Nicole Mashburn said.

Mashburn said baby boomers are redefining retirement, right down to who runs the place. Villa Marin is self-governed by its residents who own their apartments and pay an average of $6,000 a month in HOA fees. That includes housekeeping, paddle courts, a library, a salon, and a fully equipped health center with on-site medical staff.

“It was a place to come and die, and now it’s a place to come and live,” Mashburn said.

Retirees want more than a nice apartment, too. They’re asking for more adventurous cuisine, pickleball courts, and classes taught by local universities. Some want more ways to volunteer and give back. Others, especially those who are widowed or divorced, are hoping for a second shot at love.

Ken Dychtwald, a psychologist who’s written extensively about the golden years, says with more than 80 million Americans now over the age of 65, expect to see a lot more of these luxury senior communities. But he cautions not everyone can afford them.

“It’s fine if you’re wealthy, but for the average person, they’re just out of touch, out of range right now, but that’s going to change in the coming years,” he said.

As for Barker, her retirement has never tasted better. 

“I got the pot roast and the vegetables and the grilled Brussels sprout, which is my favorite,” she said.