• National Real Estate Investment Group Acquires 24-Property Portfolio

    Ikaria Capital Group announced the successful funding of a $270 million term loan and $30 million preferred equity investment for a national private healthcare real estate investment group to support the acquisition of a 24-property skilled nursing and seniors housing portfolio located in the Pacific Northwest. First Citizens Bank led the bank... Read More »
  • The Zett Group Sells Idaho Portfolio

    A trio of small, well-performing assisted living communities in rural Idaho sold with the help of Blake Bozett and Spud Batt of The Zett Group. The pair represented a mom & pop who were looking to retire after nearly 25 years of operating. Terri and Carl Pendleton built the first 16-unit assisted living community in Gooding, Idaho, and added... Read More »
  • JV Buyer Acquires Two Communities From Separate Sellers

    Helios Healthcare Advisors structured the sale and arranged joint venture equity for the acquisition of two assisted living/memory care communities in Alabama on behalf of separate sellers. Helios was initially engaged by the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast to identify a buyer that would preserve the legacy of Murray House Assisted... Read More »
  • Detroit Redevelopment Sees Senior Apartment Conversion

    KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment provided $43.6 million in construction loans and arranged $7.6 million in permanent loans for the acquisition and rehabilitation of Lee Plaza in Detroit, Michigan. The 15-story, Art Deco historical landmark will be converted to affordable senior apartments. The building will include a total of... Read More »
  • Montana Not-For-Profit Secures Bond Financing

    Ziegler announced the closing of Immanuel Living at Buffalo Hill’s $50.88 million Series 2025ABC bonds through the City of Kalispell, Montana. The Montana not-for-profit operates a senior care community in Kalispell, Montana, that is located on a 13-acre campus with 171 independent and assisted living units as well as 155 licensed skilled nursing... Read More »
Skyline Healthcare Back In The News

Skyline Healthcare Back In The News

All we can say is, it is about time. The former owner of Skyline Healthcare (or Skyline Management), Joseph Schwartz, is finally going to trial on his “alleged” fraud scheme, although he did plead guilty.  He and his “team” walked away from leases on more than 100 nursing homes across the country with no food in the fridge and empty med carts. They basically handed the keys over to the states. It was not only shameful, but it was also criminal. Each state had to scramble, and the nursing home industry suffered its biggest black eye. Actually, two black eyes.  Skyline basically sucked as much cash out of the leased facilities as they could until it all collapsed. Not even a... Read More »
Priority Life Care Is The Place To Be

Priority Life Care Is The Place To Be

Priority Life Care (PLC), based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was just recognized as one of Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Aging Services for 2024. This comes after recognition as a Great Place to Work certification for the May 2023 to May 2024 cycle, the second year in a row it has received this certification. More than 90% of employees participated in the third-party survey with 80% affirming it as a Great Place to Work. The recognition by Fortune is just one more acknowledgement as to the management style and focus on its employees. PLC is one of the largest senior living providers in the country which has a woman at the helm. CEO and Founder Sevy Petras has made it her mission to listen to... Read More »
Ventas Restructures More Leases

Ventas Restructures More Leases

In this post-COVID world, Ventas continues to modify existing leases with major tenants with an eye to the future. First was Brookdale Senior Living several years ago, and now it is with its original tenant going back more than 25 years, Kindred. Ventas owns 23 long-term acute care hospitals that are leased to Kindred for annual cash rent of $109 million. Starting in May 2025, the annual cash rent will be reduced by 27% to $80 million, with annual escalators of 2.75%. The lease maturity date was extended from April 2025 to April 30, 2030.  In addition, as part of the transaction, Ventas has received warrants for 9.9% of the common equity of Kindred’s parent, ScionHealth, exercisable... Read More »
Retirement Unlimited President Gone 

Retirement Unlimited President Gone 

Last week, Retirement Unlimited Inc. (RUI), announced that its President, Doris-Ellie Sullivan, had stepped down “to pursue other opportunities.” That is usually a signal that the person did not leave without getting pushed out. Given what we heard about the poor performance of the company since its acquisition of Brandywine Living, we have to believe that it finally caught up to her. In late 2023, RUI purchased the Brandywine Living management company, which nearly doubled the number of communities operated by RUI to more than 70. Welltower (NYSE: WELL) owned the real estate of the Brandywine portfolio. Brandywine operated very high-end assisted living communities in top markets in New... Read More »
Brookdale Reports Highest Occupancy Since March 2021

Brookdale Reports Highest Occupancy Since March 2021

While we would hope that seniors housing companies are reporting their highest occupancy levels since the bottom of the COVID market in March 2021, Brookdale Senior Living did it in pretty good fashion. Brookdale finally topped 80% in month-end occupancy for August, reaching 80.4%, or a 50 basis-point increase over July. It also represented a 110-basis point increase from a year ago. Weighted average occupancy reached 78.9% in August, a 30-basis point sequential increase and a 130-basis point increase year over year. We would expect solid census increases in the traditionally strong third quarter, so this was not a surprise. But they will have to maintain these improvements through the... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Rates Tumble on Eve of NIC

60 Seconds with Swett: Rates Tumble on Eve of NIC

Two years ago at the NIC Fall Conference, the spike in interest rates, with the 10-Year Treasury rate heading above 3.5%, seemed to spook many investors, as deals started disintegrating left and right. That did not help to lift the mood of everyone there. Then, last year, on the eve of NIC, rates were again spiking, this time above 4.5% and heading to 5.0%. The Fed may have stopped its rate increases, but the costs of borrowing were not on the decline. At least there was a belief that the worst had passed, or at least we were in the middle of the worst. Again, did not lift the spirit of the thousands of NIC attendees, and thank you for the open bars.  Now, we are approaching another... Read More »