Several new construction projects were announced late last week in the seniors housing and skilled nursing industries, which is a positive sign after the year that operators have experienced. The pandemic understandably made developers wary of continuing with or beginning construction, not only due to the virus but also the high labor and construction costs and negative media coverage of the industry.
And yet, construction is pushing forward, as indicated by the high number of projects announced just last week. We also saw LCS Development announce that it is reorganizing its senior living development business line. LCS has promoted several individuals to lead the initiative, including bringing Chuck Murphy to its seniors housing development team to provide growth and execution strategy oversight to the Delaney portfolio, which includes four communities throughout Texas and one in New Jersey. LCS is currently breaking ground on another property in New Jersey.
LCS Development provides development services for both CCRCs and rental independent, assisted, and memory care communities. The team also develops proprietary projects in which they take an ownership interest alongside institutional partners. With LCS’ new team in place, we expect to see a robust pipeline in the next several years.
And in Sarasota, Integrated Development II is building a $75 million community called LaVerne, which will feature 104 AL units, 31 IL units and 20 memory care units, all of which will be rentals. The project is expected to be completed in late 2024.
Finally, there was even some activity in the SNF market, as Ciena Healthcare recently broke ground on a $28 million facility in Troy, Michigan. Regency of Troy, scheduled to open in February 2023, will have 154 beds for short-term rehabilitation services and traditional long-term care for geriatric patients. This will be the sixth Ciena Healthcare facility in Oakland County and the 19th overall in Michigan.
