A publicly traded REIT sold Woodlands Assisted Living, an assisted living/memory care community with about 65 units in Middle River, Maryland (Baltimore MSA). Built in 1999, the community boasted historically strong operations prior to the onset of the pandemic, with occupancy north of 90% and operating margins approaching 30%. However, significantly impacted by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the community’s performance was just beginning to trend back upwards at the time of marketing.
The REIT owner engaged Kory Buzin, Brooks Blackmon, Steve Thomes and Lauren Nagle of Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors to sell the community, which they marketed as an opportunity to purchase a currently underperforming property in an attractive Baltimore suburb with limited direct competition and already-improving operating metrics.
Given the turbulence in the debt markets, Blueprint focused on identifying potential buyers with strong balance sheets and good lender relationships capable of capitalizing the acquisition of a community currently lacking in-place cash flow, a tall order these days.
Emerging from several competitive bids was Inspirations Assisted Living and Memory Care, a Maryland-based owner/operator. The Middle River location complemented Inspiration’s existing portfolio of communities in Lutherville, Linthicum and Westminster, Maryland. The purchase price was not disclosed.
