Thrive Senior Living is again growing internationally, this time in Vietnam.
The company recently announced a partnership with Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam-based Nam Long Commercial Property to develop a senior living network in the country. Thrive Senior Living, which operates roughly 12 properties in the U.S., currently has senior living ventures underway in South Korea.
The expansion into Vietnam will add a senior living development to the Waterpoint integrated township in the Ben Luc rural commune in the Long An Province. The master-planned community is just south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city.
In Vietnam, integrated townships are large-scale, master-planned communities that support thousands of homes within a designated area near industrial and economic centers.
Thrive Senior Living’s involvement in the project stems from consultancy and feasibility work the company previously did for developers in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, according to Thrive Senior Living CEO Jeramy Ragsdale. After seeing rapid residential growth driven by an “emerging middle class” in the country, Ragsdale said the partnership makes sense.
“Vietnam is growing rapidly, and there’s a huge amount of investment going into infrastructure,” Ragsdale said.
The Vietnam community’s senior living component will include a mix of independent living in one building with assisted living or memory care in an adjacent building, combined with acute care beds. Thrive Senior Living will manage the independent living wing, while health systems in Vietnam will manage the higher levels of care, Ragsdale said.
Nam Long Commercial Property, a subsidiary of major Vietnamese developer Nam Long, identified “missing pieces” within the Waterpoint development, including healthcare and a retirement and senior living component, Ragsdale added.
In April, Reuters reported that Vietnam is forecasted to remain one of Asia’s fastest-growing countries, behind only India, through 2028, led by infrastructure investment and exports. The country is targeting 10% economic growth through 2030 as part of “hundreds” of new, large-scale projects valued at over $200 billion, according to S&P estimates released earlier this year.
Given the rapid pace of growth in Vietnam, Ragsdale said the Nam Long partnership will help keep up with development in the country.
The partnership will create a platform to manage the communities built within the estate developments and could lead to future growth opportunities, Ragsdale said.
A signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding was held in April, and both entities are now “well into full design and permitting” for the first community within the Waterpoint development. Surrounding the Waterpoint master-planned community are a half-dozen other mixed-use developments within close proximity, making density a key factor for future senior living demand, Ragsdale noted.
“Vietnam is culturally different in almost every facet, and it’s a very young country,” Ragsdale said. “There’s a huge push for schools, shops, housing and retail in these developments, and they see senior living as another element of making these new cities attractive.”
The master-planned communities often span 20,000 homes with “zero senior living” options, making the density of the communities attractive, along with “little competition,” Ragsdale added.
“The cultural attitude seems to be that enabling your parents to live a more luxurious way of life as they age is a source of pride,” Ragsdale said. “It’s the ‘Wild West’ because there is no precedent.”
Ragsdale estimated that construction would be underway at Waterpoint by the end of this year, followed by an additional project in the country. As the project progresses, Ragsdale said Thrive Senior Living continues to learn the cultural nuances of working internationally.
“One thing that gives me confidence and excitement is that we picked a good partner in Nam Long; they are extremely well-capitalized, moving very quickly and motivated to do this right,” Ragsdale said. “This is an amenity offered in these broader developments, which I think is a perfect test bed for a product in a pioneering market.”
