Legend Senior Living Adds 4 Communities In Regional Clustered Growth Strategy

Early growth in 2025 has placed Legend Senior Living in a “strong position” to take on new opportunities and to keep “building momentum” this year and beyond, President Matt Buchanan told Senior Housing News.

Legend now manages 71 properties following recent additions to the company’s third-party management portfolio.

“This growth has been strategic, with expansion focused on markets where we already have a strong operational presence,” Buchanan told SHN. “That approach allows us to scale efficiently, maintain consistency in service delivery, and ensure a high-quality resident experience.”

Earlier this month, Legend announced management of four new communities across Kansas, Colorado and Pennsylvania. The communities were previously listed as operated by Sunrise Senior Living and are owned by Welltower (NYSE: WELL), according to a disclosure from the REIT. Since 2022, Legend has added 16 Welltower properties to its operational clusters in Florida, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania both through transitions and acquisitions.

With the recent growth now behind the company, President Matt Buchanan sees third-party management and future development as potential growth vehicles in the future.

“Since our early years we have always maintained third-party management relationships, so we see the opportunity as a way to build and strengthen relationships with capital partners with the plans for additional growth through future development,” Matt Buchanan said.

Buchanan, who is the son of longtime CEO Tim Buchanan, sees more opportunities in 2025 to grow its management portfolio, along with making new acquisitions, noting that Legend will “pursue those.”

Legend previously grew its portfolio through new development and Buchanan said there was a “glimmer of hope” to that end, he noted the company is “making preparations for some new construction,” he told SHN.

In the meantime, Buchanan and the company’s leadership team are integrating new communities into the Legend portfolio while seeking to not disrupt current operations.

“As we grow, we are planning investment in new resources and infrastructure to support our operations. We scale with intention,” Matt Buchanan told SHN. “It’s part of our disciplined approach and our commitment to delivering a consistent Legend experience across every community.”

With an “overall positive staffing environment,” Buchanan said the workforce landscape was “always evolving,” with corporate leaders “constantly refining” how to best support frontline teams with career development, training or building culture initiatives.

“We feel very optimistic about the remainder of 2025,” Buchanan said. “The early growth this year has put us in a strong position, and with solid staffing and operational stability, we’re well-equipped to keep building momentum.”

The recent growth at Legend has played out over the last two years. In 2023, the company added 11 communities followed by eight new communities last year and eight completed to date in 2025.

Earlier this year, the Buchanans outlined future growth plans, along with ways the company is bulking up operations to accommodate rapid growth, including adding training and employee development efforts while also growing its data and analytics platform.

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