A $1.5B Real Estate Bet on Aging America with Laurie Schultz, Principal & Co-Founder at Avenue, Viva Bene

In this episode, I sat down with Laurie Schultz, Principal & Co-Founder at Avenue, Viva Bene to discuss how aging demographics are reshaping real estate and why traditional senior living is due for a major transformation. Laurie shared her journey from growing up in St. Louis to building a career across apartments, healthcare real estate, and senior housing. She has helped develop more than $1.5 billion of projects and now focuses on solving one of the biggest unmet needs in housing. We also talked about how entrepreneurship often starts long before people realize it.Laurie explained why many older adults do not identify with the traditional senior living model and how that gap created the opportunity for active adult communities. We broke down Avenue’s Viva Bene concept, which combines age-restricted housing, social connection, and preventive healthcare services. She also shared how AI is changing development, why construction labor remains a challenge, and how housing could eventually become part of healthcare reimbursement models. This conversation is a masterclass in spotting demographic trends early and building around real human needs.Connect with the HostTwitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠⁠LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtutConnect with the GuestLinkedIn: Laurie Schultz, CCIMWebsite: Avenue DevelopmentCompany Updates: Avenue LinkedInTimestamps for Key Segments00:00 Why traditional senior living is changing01:14 Introducing Laurie Schultz and Avenue01:56 Growing up in St. Louis and first career steps04:19 How entrepreneurship developed early06:33 Entering healthcare and senior housing real estate09:10 Aging in place vs moving to senior living10:07 Building Avenue through medical office projects14:31 Expanding into development, construction, and investment19:20 How AI is changing real estate development21:54 Why Viva Bene was created25:21 Why St. Louis became the first pilot market32:19 Early leasing success and expansion plans37:23 Challenges facing senior living today39:35 Designing active adult communities differently44:21 Laurie’s day-to-day and long-term missionThis podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email [email protected] with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/