What’s next after you’ve accomplished everything you set out to do?
If you’re Amy Schectman, chief executive of 2Life Communities, you start planning your retirement.
On Thursday, Schectman informed 2Life’s 250 employees across seven campuses that she would be retiring on Oct. 2 after 16 years leading the Brighton-based group of senior housing communities. President Lizbeth Heyer, who joined in 2014, will take over as CEO.
When Schectman became CEO in 2010, joining what was then Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly from a housing position in Deval Patrick’s administration, her first big task was stabilizing the nonprofit’s finances.
But she had more ambitious goals, too, such as establishing a real estate development office and a spiritual ministry arm, as well as eventually building apartments for middle-income seniors to augment the organization’s publicly subsidized units. And there was a rebranding as well: What was then JCHE adopted the name 2Life in 2018, in part due to residents’ aversion to being referred to as “elderly.”
The organization, which has an annual operating budget of nearly $50 million, has essentially doubled its housing portfolio during Schectman’s tenure: It now oversees more than 1,800 apartments for more than 2,000 seniors.
Most notably, 2Life completed its first middle-income apartment complex, Opus Newton, next to JCC Greater Boston’s community center in Newton. The 351,000-square-foot complex, featuring 172 apartments, was finished last year without any public subsidies. It helped that 2Life didn’t have investors looking for a quick profit and that 2Life can borrow with a lower interest rate, as a nonprofit with access to the municipal bond market. (While Opus offers Jewish-themed programming, the apartments are open to people of all religious backgrounds.)
Schectman said she’s hopeful 2Life can acquire more land to build a similar Opus-branded project in another location. She said Sheila Dillon, Boston’s chief of housing, just visited and said she would like to see the next one go up in Boston; officials from other nearby municipalities have also expressed an interest.
The wait list to get into the Newton complex already exceeds 200.
“It’s filling a gap that no one else is filling,” Schectman said.
Schectman, 69, isn’t quite done yet. She still has some punch-list items to work through at Opus Newton, and wants to start fundraising for 2Life to endow a director of spiritual care position. (Currently, 2Life has a rabbi and a minister on its full-time staff.)
“I’ve done what I needed to do,” Schectman said. “I’m ready to move on. Now, it’s time for the next generation.”
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.