Merrill Gardens, known more developing seniors housing communities than acquiring them, has acquired Blue Harbor, a Portland, Oregon-based company that currently manages 21 communities in 13 states. The seller was Fortress Investment Group.
For Merrill Gardens, it is somewhat of a two-fer, as Blue Harbor’s CEO, Tana Gall, is joining Merrill Gardens as its CEO, replacing David Eskenazy who announced his retirement last month. What’s more, Gall was president of Merrill Gardens from 2013 to 2015 before leaving to start her own consulting company, but was then recruited by Blue Harbor. She also worked at Leisure Care for 19 years, rising to be president there. Not a bad resume.
Merrill Gardens currently operates 33 communities in eight states and three in China. The Blue Harbor acquisition nearly doubles Merrill Gardens’ size.
