Business thrives on graying market
Consultant who specializes in the needs of seniors says other states are trying to draw retirees away from Florida
By STEPHEN FRATER
stephen.frater@heraldtribune.com
SARASOTA — Watch out, Sunshine State retirement community developers and operators. Georgia is gunning for your business, as are Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, says an expert in senior living communities.
Developers in "all those states are serious in saying, 'We are tired of watching all the retirees drive through on their way to Florida,' and they are getting quite competitive with offerings for both active adults as well as those retirees that require a 'service-enriched' environment," said Tracy Lux, the Sarasota-based head of Trace Marketing and former head of Hyatt Corp.'s senior living communities division.
Lux said north Georgia is "the hottest market in the country" for seniors right now.
She is in a position to know.
Trace has carved out a consulting sweet spot working with businesses and builders specializing in the needs of the active adult and senior housing industry, health care organizations and a variety of other companies that target goods and services to the "mature population" internationally.
Lux, a graduate of Stephens College in Missouri, is president and founder of the 16-year-old business, which she says is thriving with the graying of America's baby boomers. She has been involved in marketing real estate, new home developments, health care and financial products targeted to the mature market for more than 20 years.
The company specializes in strategic planning and research and the development of advertising and public relations programs.
The other divisions of the company -- Trace Training Solutions and Trace Executive Search -- provide sales, operations and customer service training programs and executive recruitment services, respectively.
Lux's previous experience includes serving as national director of sales and marketing for Classic Residences by Hyatt.
She was responsible for positioning the company's senior-living communities for each of the six communities opened by the relatively new division of Hyatt Corp.
In Florida, Lux also was vice president of marketing for Sun City Center Corp., Florida's largest retirement community.
In Texas, her experience included directing marketing efforts for The Woodlands Development Corp., a 23,000-acre master-planned community, and Contemporary Health Management Co., a multi-hospital ownership and management company.
In Milwaukee, she was director of mature market programs for the largest savings and loan association in Wisconsin and senior programs for the YWCA. Lux has a core staff of six, but that work force can rise to as high as 12 depending on what the company is handling at the time.
Trace can manage a dozen client projects at a time with prices ranging from $25,000 for basic research to $150,000 or more for complete senior residential project planning, which can take as much as 18 months.
Her current clients include M-I Homes, an Ohio-based builder with an Orlando retirement project under way and Vero Beach's Harbor Retirement Associates.
Other well known clients have included Marriott Senior Living Services, Suncoast Manor, Michael Saunders & Co. and Woodside Management.
Lux, a mother of three and grandmother of six, is a member of the National Association of Home Builders and has been an instructor and author.
She is a senior housing marketing specialist, a professional designation of the 55+ Council, and has served as National Education Committee chairwoman and on the group's board as a trustee.
Lux also is one of the first group of senior-housing industry leaders honored as a "certified active adult specialist in housing" by the National Association of Home Builders.
