So, it begins. Brooks Blackmon and Steve Thomes of Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors announced the firm’s first 2020 closing, selling a portfolio of five seniors housing communities in Louisiana. Representing the Georgia-based owner/operator who had originally developed the communities, the pair found a buyer in a joint venture between Griffin-American Healthcare REIT IV and Georgia-based Senior Solutions Management Group (SSMG).
Built in the late-1990s, the communities boasted a good reputation in their local markets and historically stable operations. However, the previous owner was looking to refocus on development in their home state, so a sale was pursued. SSMG entered the state (in a big way) with the deal. No purchase price was disclosed.
Then, it took two tries, but a 74-unit/bed assisted living/skilled nursing facility in Canton, Ohio, finally sold, with the help of Connor Doherty and Ryan Kelly of Blueprint. The facility’s local owner/operator was looking to retire and had approached Blueprint after a previously failed sale process.
Purpose-built in 2016, the community had struggled with lease-up and was cash flow-neutral at the time of the sale. But it offered a turnaround opportunity to a new owner. The buyer turned out to be a regional developer/owner/operator with extensive operating experience and concentration in northeast Ohio. Paying an undisclosed sum, they plan to delicense the skilled nursing beds and introduce memory care. They have already brought in new leadership and implemented a re-branding strategy, and occupancy is rising as a result.
