CareTrust expands

CareTrust REIT acquired a portfolio of four assisted living communities and promptly leased them back to two separate entities, creating a new tenant relationship along the way. Three of the communities, with 366 units, are located in Baltimore, Maryland, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and West Allis, Wisconsin, were purchased from and leased back to a company headed by two of the three key principals of the seller. Brother and sister team Robert and Severine Petras formed Priority Life Care, which owns and operates four seniors housing communities, and structured a sale/leaseback agreement with CareTrust to consolidate their existing partnership and complete the capitalization of the new company. Priority’s new master lease carries an initial 15-year term, with two five-year renewal options and CPI-based rent escalators. The fourth property, a 74-unit assisted living community in Fort Myers, Florida, was also purchased by CareTrust and added to its existing master lease with Better Senior Living Consulting. The aggregate purchase price for the four communities was approximately $27 million, or $61,364 per unit, with annual rental revenues of approximately $2.3 million. CareTrust funded the acquisitions with approximately $15 million of cash on hand, and approximately $12 million from its $400 million unsecured revolving credit facility.