Rancho Mission Viejo Partners with the Global Wellness Institute on Initiative Focused on Creating Healthier Communities Worldwide

Rancho Mission Viejo, a 23,000-acre master planned community in South Orange County, is working with the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) on a new “Wellness Communities & Real Estate Initiative”. This marks the first-ever collaborative effort between these two organizations. Rancho Mission Viejo was featured as a leading wellness community at GWI’s inaugural Wellness Communities and Real Estate Symposium last month, which moved beyond abstract theory to share real-world data and case studies highlighting the impact of wellness on the value of real estate and its effect on quality of life.

“The Ranch has been intentionally developed on a foundation of wellbeing for decades,” said Kris Maher, senior vice president of community design for Rancho Mission Viejo, and initiative member. “The natural habitat and incomparable access to nature, thoughtfully planned amenities, social programming and experiences, which include community farms and gardens, provide opportunities to pursue all dimensions of wellbeing at every age and stage of life. This partnership will be an opportunity to expand on these ideas and designs.”

The initiative team includes Rancho Mission Viejo senior executives Amaya Genaro, vice president of community services and Kris Maher, senior vice president of community design. Initiative Co-Chairs include Helen Foster, principal of Foster Strategy and Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki, principal of tst ink. Helen is chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Lifestyle Residential Development Council and Teri is assistant chair of Urban Land Institute’s Residential Neighborhood Development Council. Both are also part of Rancho Mission Viejo’s strategy team where they help The Ranch create new approaches to community development and resident life.

“As communities became more central to our daily lives during COVID—and will likely continue to be where we spend most of our time—more of us are aware that health and wellbeing outcomes are a direct result of the environments where we live, recreate, and more now, work remotely,” said Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki. “Understanding how homes and neighborhoods can increase personal wellness is key to GWI’s mission of empowering wellness worldwide.”

The Global Wellness Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower wellness around the world through the education of public and private sectors. The Wellness Communities & Real Estate Initiative builds on the 2018 Build Well to Live Well Report and will explore how community environments can increase personal wellness.

“Neighborhoods on The Ranch create social vibrancy for residents, encourage community engagement, and present the opportunity to interact with people at varying stages of life. Intergenerational living significantly enhances the wellbeing of a community, and allows people of all ages to truly live in harmony by sharing experiences. We’re looking forward to this partnership to continue to find ways to enhance wellbeing on The Ranch and beyond,” said Amaya Genaro.

The initiative will also help identify elements that have the greatest potential to impact wellness in community design and development through conscious and effective land plans, facility designs, complementary programming, and access to related resources and support services.

“Wellness communities and real estate have long been a wellness sector of significant growth and opportunity, but COVID-19 has accelerated the need for these types of developments,” said Susie Ellis, GWI Chair and CEO. “We’re thrilled to have the support and commitment of Rancho Mission Viejo as they take on this important work and share their experience with the rest of the industry through this crucially important initiative.”

For more information, visit: https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/initiatives/wellness-communities-real-estate-initiative/.