A private real estate investment firm that is “playing offense right now” in the seniors housing M&A market announced its latest acquisition of a 172-unit community in Rock Hill, South Carolina (Charlotte, NC MSA). La Jolla, California-based Bakerson Companies was launched in 2021 by Pablo Linero, who brings investment experience from HP Investors, Brookfield Properties and Frontera Real Estate Investments. Backed by Latin American family office capital, the company is searching for scale in the seniors housing industry.
The latest deal featured Chandler Place in Rock Hill. Built in 1995 and 2002, this seniors housing campus includes independent living (majority), assisted living and memory care units across three buildings. It was purchased by Longview Senior Housing from Healthpeak Properties in 2017, and Navion Senior Solutions had taken over operations in 2019. The property was performing well, but there was room to make capital improvements and increase occupancy. Bakerson purchased the community with all cash, and will keep Navion as the operator. The price was not disclosed. Tim Hosmer, Jay Wagner, Rick Swartz and Sean Kirk of JLL handled the transaction.
The community fit the investment criteria for Bakerson, which is searching for larger, B-quality seniors housing properties (above 150 units) that have existing cash flow with some upside. Ideal locations would be in secondary markets in the Southeast, but the company is open to deals across the country.
That flexibility was evident in its previous acquisition in Orangevale, California, of Blossom Vale Senior Living. Also previously owned by Longview, the community was built in 1987 and features 102 units of independent and assisted living.
Bakerson was a co-GP on that deal in addition to another purchase in McAllen, Texas. Looking forward, Bakerson has two more deals planned for 2024 while also assembling a team of seasoned professionals from other asset classes and building an efficient platform to scale. One recent hire was Maclain Caldwell, who was previously the CFO at GeneSuites and also spent seven years at Brookfield Properties/Oliver McMillan.
