Harrison Street makes an exit…and a return

An assisted living community in Mesa, Arizona has evolved a lot over its 30-year history. Built in 1985 as low-income housing, it was converted to seniors housing in 1996. Between 2003 and 2007, the owner at the time invested $5 million in renovations that allowed them to more than double rents in that time. Then, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and its operating partner for the community, Milestone Retirement Communities, stepped in to purchase the community in 2008 for $15.85 million, or $90,600 per unit. Over time, the independent living units were reduced to make room for more assisted living. Currently there are 123 AL units, 30 memory care units and 22 IL units in 13 stories. Finally, Sierra Capital & Investment, a private equity firm based in Fresno, California, recently acquired the community for $20.9 million, or about $119,400 per unit (not a bad return for Harrison Street). To operate the community, they plan to hire Frontier Management, which operates three other properties in Arizona. Greystone represented the seller in the transaction.