Tampa developer partners with NFL Alumni Association to build assisted living facilities for former players
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 10, 2015

A local developer is partnering with the NFL Alumni Association to develop specialized assisted living and memory care facilities for former players.

Validus Senior Living, based in Tampa, said Friday that it will build 33 of the centers throughout the U.S., in areas with high concentrations of retired NFL players, over the next five years. The deal represents about $1.1 billion in development costs.

Validus Senior Living is an affiliate of Validus Group, which is also based in Tampa. Assisted living and memory care centers are private-pay facilities, meaning they do not rely on Medicaid or Medicare reimbursements. The cost of living in one of the facilities is usually several thousand dollars per month.

"With the support of the NFLAA, we will be able to serve the care needs of retired football players and the local communities in which there is a NFL franchise," Steve Benjamin, CEO of Validus Senior Living, said in a news release.

In recent years, there's been an increased awareness of the issues former NFL players face after retirement, from memory loss to mental health issues to financial woes.

The first will open outside of Orlando in 2016 and will include a number of amenities such as swimming pools, dog parks, boardwalks, tiki huts and putting greens.

The projects are backed by investment bank Piper Jaffray and developer Mark Bouldin, who works with Validus Senior Living management on their Inspired Living brand of communities.

"The strategic alliance focuses on providing a better lifestyle for retired NFL players who need assisted living and memory care services," Joe Pisarcik, president and CEO of the NFLAA, said in a news release. "With an aging population and more and more Americans needing memory care services, including some former NFL players, we want to give our members an option that we can stand behind. We were impressed by Validus Senior Living and its Inspired Living brand of communities and know they will exceed our retired players' needs."