Not every real estate initiative is ultimately pursued, for many valid reasons. For a total of 7 years (2007-2012 and 2018-2020), Grant served as a senior real estate advisor to Classic Residence by Hyatt and its successor, Vi Living, identifying and evaluating California expansion opportunities. The company operates a national portfolio of continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) that offer luxury residences for financially independent seniors. In California, Vi Living has major communities in Palo Alto and La Jolla.

These specially licensed facilities offer accommodations for both independent and assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care in an integrated environment on a single campus. To operate cost-effectively, these communities must have a certain minimum scale, which in California results in a development budget of $400 million or more, and staffing levels of at least 250 persons on each campus.

Reporting to the president of the company, Grant negotiated purchase agreements and land use entitlements, coordinating the preparation of recommendations to the company’s board of directors. Some fifty potential acquisitions, in nine California counties, were considered in-depth, with purchase transactions fully structured for six of these. For a variety of reasons, including the scarcity of suitable financing, the collapse of home prices in many urban markets, and the ownership family’s decision to liquidate many of its holdings (including Vi Living), none of our recommended acquisitions was ever approved. In early 2012, having sold more than half its portfolio of properties, the board of directors decided, finally, to suspend all new development initiatives. These were renewed in 2018 but cut short, again, by the coronavirus pandemic that significantly impacted the operation of congregate living environments.