Across the nation, the overall occupancy rate for senior housing has been rising for at least four years, reaching 88.7% in September 2025, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC).
For every 10 new units that were built in 2025, NIC continues, the market filled 31. Put another way, there were 3 units of demand for every new unit delivered.
For Florida builders and contractors, this gap represents opportunity. But senior living — which includes independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities — is not your everyday commercial project. It has its own regulatory framework, construction requirements and sequencing constraints. Contractors across Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers who understand those differences are in good position to prosper over the coming years.
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The Demand Story: Florida's Numbers
The scale of Florida's senior living opportunity starts with demographics. The state has the nation’s second-highest concentration of people 65 and older: 5.3 million people, or 22.4% of Florida's population — up from 21% in 2020, notes the blog of Seacoast Building & Design. (Maine ranks No. 1 — largely due to outmigration of younger people.)
The supply gap didn't happen overnight. Construction costs rose sharply beginning in 2020 due to supply chain disruptions from the pandemic. Financing tightened at the same time, and the construction pipeline effectively froze.
That's finally changing. The environment for construction financing has been easing, and the Florida markets that are directly served by Best Supply are among the most active in the state as the pipeline begins to thaw for senior living projects.
For Best Supply’s customers in Florida, related development activity includes:
Orlando: Millenia Moments, under construction by The Douglas Company, will offer 261 units for independent living, assisted living and memory care. The project is expected to open in late 2027.
Sarasota: Emerson Lakes in Lakewood Ranch is being built in phases and will eventually offer more than 1,000 senior living units on an 87-acre campus, according to Senior Housing News.
Fort Myers and Lee County: Shell Point Tower One at Vista Cay, scheduled for occupancy in mid-2027, will provide approximately 60 independent living units in a 12-story tower, being constructed by The Weitz Co.
Senior living is not a single product type. Independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing all carry different regulatory requirements, and the distinctions matter structurally.
There are multiple layers of regulation to navigate. Senior living projects must simultaneously satisfy requirements from multiple agencies. State health departments, fire marshals, building departments and sometimes federal agencies all have jurisdiction over different aspects of a project, according to Pro Commercial construction company. Discovering mid-construction that a design doesn't meet licensing requirements creates changes that are exponentially more expensive than getting it right up front.
Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) reviews and approves plans for licensed care facilities — a process that runs parallel to, and sometimes ahead of, local building department permitting. Understanding this dual-track approval process is essential to realistic scheduling on any Florida senior living project.
The construction details are distinct. Several specific construction requirements set senior living apart from standard commercial work. For example, the Procore construction software blog notes that floor transitions must minimize elevation change — meaning special workarounds to eliminate any lip or threshold on bathroom showers. And lighting goes beyond code minimums, with natural light, task lighting and ambient lighting all standard design expectations. MEP systems in assisted living and memory care facilities require emergency power, nurse call systems and specialized ventilation and infection control — making them more complex and costly than typical residential systems.
Contractors with experience in senior living construction will address these issues when bidding on any such project:
Florida's senior population is growing faster than the construction industry is building for it. That gap is an opportunity for contractors who approach this project type with the preparation it requires. The builders winning senior living work projects in Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers are not simply transferring skills from multifamily or light commercial. They're learning a distinct project type, building relationships with developers who specialize in it and understanding the regulatory environment well enough to schedule and price it accurately.
Best Supply provides competitive pricing, white glove delivery and sourcing expertise for construction materials and supplies needed to meet the unique requirements for medical, institutional and other specialized types of construction. Let us know how we can help keep your next project on schedule and within budget. Request a quote here.