It’s not often you see a skilled nursing facility sell for north of $200,000 per bed. But not all facilities are located in the heart of the highly desirable, high-income Upper East Side in New York. Well, a group of private investors, known as 79th Street Acquisition Group LLC on city records, and Cassena Care, which operates seven SNFs in New York City and Connecticut, purchased a 499-bed SNF for $105.5 million, or $211,400 per bed. The 170,000-square foot facility sold for approximately $621 per square foot, and with its tremendous location, is seen as a potential development site. Built in 1967, the facility had been operated by Marilyn Lichtman since its opening, including when she took over ownership in 1984. In 2011, with up to $38.4 million owed in back taxes and union benefit fund payments, the facility filed for Chapter 11 protection.

To finance the acquisition, the buyers secured $93 million from KeyBank, which included a $74.25 million gap mortgage and a note from Sterling National Bank assumed by KeyBank with an unpaid balance of approximately $18.75 million. Mark Zafrin and Mark Frimmel (both attorneys at Michelman & Robinson LLP) represented the buyers in the transaction.