Converted convent sells in Wisconsin

Meridian Senior Services recently purchased a 50-unit assisted living community in Racine, Wisconsin (between Milwaukee and Chicago) for $6.5 million, or 130,000 per unit, with a 12.3% cap rate. The community has quite a history. The main building was built in 1924 originally as a convent, but was completely gutted in 2008 to provide assisted living. Currently, the 64,000-square foot building sits on 4.07 acres. The seller, which bought the property in 2007 and spent approximately $2 million for the conversion, is a local operator. Despite the renovation, the older structure of the building means the rooms are on the small side and there is not much common area, hence the higher cap rate. Nevertheless, the community pulled in $800,000 in EBITDA on $3.15 million of revenues, and was 95% occupied, with an 88% private pay census. The site is also pre-approved for an additional 24-unit expansion. Ray Giannini of Marcus & Millichap handled the transaction.