There was a lot more than meets the eye for Evans Senior Investments’ latest closing in California, and it’s something the industry should take notice of. The sale involved an 87-unit senior living community in San Luis Obispo, which was built in 2000 and expanded in 2006 to now include 74 assisted living units, four independent living units and nine separate cottages. Operations were solid, until its owner was charged with manslaughter for the death of a resident.
The story boils down to a resident with pretty advanced dementia living in a community not licensed for memory care. In the end, the resident was hit by a car and died. These stories unfortunately appear from time to time, but it’s not every day the owner of the facility is sentenced to actual jail time for it.
Operations at the community slid a bit amid the turmoil, with occupancy falling to 75% (still with a 100% private pay census) and cash flow turning red. A California-based owner/operator with a successful history of turnaround projects will step in to hopefully work their magic. They paid $12.775 million, or $146,800 per unit.
