Global Wellness Institute to Hold First Symposium on Wellness Real Estate & Communities


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While the notion of ‘wellness real estate’ first emerged several years ago, COVID-19 has brought about a sudden awareness for all of us—the simple understanding that what surrounds us matters

The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the leading research organization for the global wellness industry, today announced it will hold a Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, in New York City. This will be the first-ever event to take a deep dive into this fast-growing market and will gather the top executives, developers, investors, architects, designers, analysts, policymakers and media—the global leaders in the business of wellness real estate and communities—to examine the future of this market from the highest-level perspective.

It will be a full day (8:00 AM–4:00 PM ET) of keynotes, panels and interactive discussions. Attendees will have exclusive access to the GWI’s newresearch on the current size of the sector, its projected growth, and the forces powering the market and movement for real estate and communities proactively designed to support the holistic health of their occupants.

Because this is a significant global market, both in-person and virtual attendance is available. The event will be held at etc.venues 601 Lexington, and in-person delegates are invited to a VIP reception at Delos’ NYC headquarters the evening before. Delos, a wellness real estate and technology leader, is the symposium’s marquis sponsor.

Registration is open, and space is limited.

The pandemic real estate shakeup: Supercharged demand for ‘well’ homes & communities

The GWI was first to measure and analyze the global wellness real estate and communities market in its pioneering report, Build Well To Live Well, identifying a $134 billion market back in 2018. (The GWI also has a new initiative for this sector.) To say that momentum has grown since is an understatement: COVID-19 radically accelerated the value of homes, spaces and places where safety, health and wellness were at the center.

“A revolution in rethinking real estate, communities and the built environment around wellness principles was percolating pre-pandemic, but this long crisis has created a whole new mindset: The health of our homes and communities—where we live and how ‘well’—has become a critical issue,” said Susie Ellis, GWI chair and CEO. “We felt that there was an urgency to bring together the big players, thinkers, investors and innovators in an all-day, think-and-do tank-like event to go very deep on the latest insights and newest directions in this crucial, evolving space.”

The agenda will feature experts tackling the hot topics in wellness real estate and communities, such as:


  • What is the current US and global landscape? What markets are heating up?
  • What are the trends in technology and design “hardware” to create smart-healthy homes and communities?
  • What do consumers most demand—and what are the cutting-edge developments doing—in wellness programming, whether communities with nature, human connection, green and regenerative living, or medical-wellness at their core?
  • How will a work-from-home future spur new developments that blur the line between home, work and wellness and new destinations and concepts?
  • How are hotel and wellness resort groups zeroing in on a mixed hospitality-wellness residence model?
  • In a world aging as never before, how will wellness concepts remake retirement and senior living models?
  • With a retail and office space downturn, how could cities get a “well” rethinking; what’s the future of urban wellness developments?
  • Is a new wave of more affordable and inclusive wellness communities coming, driven by forward-thinking governments, policymakers and developers?
  • What are best practices and innovations in the funding, development and operations of projects? What kind of ROI are projects seeing?

New research will be presented throughout the day: GWI’s senior research fellows Katherine Johnston and Ophelia Yeung will present the never-before-shared market numbers for 2020 and discuss the implications of various global forces on this sector going forward in the context of the evolving wellness economy and new public health and policy conversations. In addition, Joanna Frank, president and CEO of the Center for Active Design, will present findings from the largest health and wellness study of real estate investors to date.

“While the notion of ‘wellness real estate’ first emerged several years ago, COVID-19 has brought about a sudden awareness for all of us—the simple understanding that what surrounds us matters,” said Paul Scialla, Founder and CEO of Delos and Founder of the International WELL Building Institute. “We are excited to continue to advance over eight years of Delos’ research on this topic and collaborate across sectors to share new data, insights and technologies, and ultimately improve the health and well-being of people globally.” Scialla will give a keynote address during the symposium.

Additional keynotes and panelists will be announced in the coming weeks. Register for the Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium here.

About the Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is considered the leading global research and educational resource for the global wellness industry and is known for introducing major industry initiatives and regional events that bring together leaders to chart the future. GWI positively impacts global health and wellness by educating public institutions, businesses and individuals on how they can work to prevent disease, reduce stress, and enhance the overall quality of life. Its mission is to empower wellness worldwide.

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