Ziegler impressed in June, closing over $350 million in tax-exempt bond financing for two CCRC clients. Buckner Senior Living was on the receiving end of the larger closing, a $232.5 million fixed-rate bond issuance to fund the development of its 325-unit entrance fee CCRC in the North Park neighborhood of Dallas. The luxury community is expected to cost around $136 million to build, or about $418,000 per unit. With that high cost comes a number of amenities like a roof-top garden, top-floor “Sky Lounge,” heated indoor pool and a salon/spa, among others. Placed on a three-acre parcel, the community will feature 189 independent living, 38 assisted living, 26 memory care, 48 skilled nursing and 24 rehabilitation units/beds in two 12-story towers. Greenbrier Development is serving as the development consultant, while Buckner Retirement Services will manage the community, which has been in the works for several years now. Of the total bond issuance, $180 million will cover the construction and pre-development costs, about $31 million will fund interest payments and there will be a $24 million working capital fund. The remainder will finance a debt service reserve fund, operating reserves and costs of issuance. With a cost of construction to debt ratio of 58.6%, we hope everything goes smoothly and another recession does not hit when the doors open.
Then, sticking with CCRCs, Ziegler closed $122.45 million in tax-exempt, fixed rate bonds for a six-year old community in Kirkwood, Missouri (St. Louis MSA). An affiliate of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc. (PMMA) sponsors the CCRC, which features 243 IL, 30 AL, 15 MC and 30 skilled nursing units/beds on 27 acres, but Greystone co-manages it with PMMA. The bonds will refund the Series 2010 bonds, fund a debt service reserve and pay costs of issuance, and they generated $18 million in net present value savings or approximately 17% of par amount of bonds refunded. This transaction comes full circle for Ziegler, which originally provided seed capital for the development through its Ziegler Equity Funding and then arranged the Series 2010 bonds that funded the CCRC’s construction.
