• 60 Seconds with Swett: The Problem with CMS Interpretive Guidelines

    Just a day after we highlighted the potential downsides of overregulation of assisted living from the federal level, a case of regulatory overreach involving a nursing home just headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District in hopes of overturning a $1.8 million civil monetary penalty. Without getting into the minutiae too much, the... Read More »
  • Kayne Anderson Fund Tops Target

    The familiar refrain continues, with more capital continuing to flow into the seniors housing industry, property prices should keep rising. Kayne Anderson Real Estate, the real estate private equity arm of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., has closed the largest opportunistic equity fund in its history, at more than 70% above its initial... Read More »
  • Well-Performing Full-Continuum Community Sells

    Blueprint announced its role in the sale of Morningstar at Golden Ridge, a seniors housing community in Peoria, Arizona (Phoenix MSA). Built in 2019, the community has 38 independent living, 65 assisted living and 35 memory care units. It is nearly fully occupied. The community is one of the newest and most well-appointed assets within a... Read More »
  • Kaplan Development Divests to Cedarwood Group

    Cedarwood Group closed its acquisition of Saranac Village at Will Rogers, a 75-unit independent living community in Saranac Lake, New York. The seller was Kaplan Development Group, which took over Will Rogers after the first year of it being open as a senior living community. The community was originally built in 1928 as a Tudor-style... Read More »
  • Omega Welcomes New CEO and CFO

    Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc.’s President, Matthew Gourmand will become the REIT’s Chief Executive Officer in conjunction with the planned retirement of Taylor Pickett, effective October 1, 2026. Pickett will also step down from the Board of Directors upon his retirement, and the Board of Directors intends to appoint Gourmand to the Board,... Read More »
In Memoriam: Jim Moore, 1934 – 2024

In Memoriam: Jim Moore, 1934 – 2024

I was saddened to hear of the passing of my old friend Jim Moore, the founder of Moore Diversified Services. I had known Jim for nearly 40 years, and we always enjoyed catching up on the latest industry trends, and a little gossip thrown in as well, when we would see each other at the various industry conferences throughout the years. One of the first things he would say to me was, “How do you get away with saying the things you say?” but always with a little twinkle in his eye. I always thought he was a little jealous of that. Jim was an industry icon, spending nearly 50 years analyzing the industry, its operations, its financial feasibility and, of course, its people. He literally lived... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Dr. Oz to Lead CMS?

60 Seconds with Swett: Dr. Oz to Lead CMS?

Here is a sentence we never expected to say. Dr. Mehmet Oz will in all likelihood be the next head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He was tapped by President-elect Trump, who said in a statement that Oz would “cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency” and would see that “we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on healthcare in our Great Country.” At this point, we are not sure what “cutting waste in fraud” could mean within CMS, and who would be at the other end of those cuts, or how operators in the senior care world might have to change their way of business. But Dr. Oz also represents a sort of blank slate... Read More »
Walker & Dunlop’s Transaction Trifecta

Walker & Dunlop’s Transaction Trifecta

The Walker & Dunlop Seniors Housing team is off to a strong start for Q4, having closed three transactions, so far. The deals were across the swing states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia. The first closed in October, and the following two closed in November.  First, Alex Vice, Joshua Jandris and Brett Gardner handled the sale of a standalone memory care community in the Milwaukee MSA. The community comprises 65 beds in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The seller was a national owner/operator and the buyer was a local owner.  Next, Vice, Jandris, Gardner and Nick Hall facilitated the divestment of a CCRC in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania. The community comprises 90 skilled nursing... Read More »
Kiawah Life and Bishop Gadsden Affiliate

Kiawah Life and Bishop Gadsden Affiliate

Ziegler facilitated the affiliation of Kiawah Life Plan Village, Inc. with Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Communities. After exploring over 20 qualified organizations, KLPV selected Bishop based upon its reputation in the Charleston, South Carolina market, financial strength and shared values. KLPV is a not-for-profit that was formed in 2020 to own and operate Seafields at Kiawah Island, a seniors housing community in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Construction of the community is currently underway, and it is scheduled to open fall 2025. Seafields will consist of 89 independent living units and 16 assisted living units, along with various amenities. Residents will also have priority access to... Read More »
Four SNFs Receive Refinancing in Virginia

Four SNFs Receive Refinancing in Virginia

Capital Funding Group closed a $132.24 million bridge loan on behalf of a nationally recognized borrower. The deal supported the refinancing of four skilled nursing facilities comprising 731 beds in Virginia. Craig Cassagrande and Catherine Mansel handled the transaction, which closed 47 days from receipt of the signed term sheet.  This transaction follows CFG’s even-larger closing of a $207.1 million bridge-to-HUD term loan on behalf of landlord sponsor, 980Investments. The deal supported the partnership buyout of a portfolio of thirteen skilled nursing facilities featuring 1,423 beds in Florida. CFG also provided $15 million in accounts receivable financing to support the working... Read More »
Dealmaking in South Dakota

Dealmaking in South Dakota

A small assisted living community in South Dakota sold thanks to the team at Evans Senior Investments. An institutional owner/operator engaged Evans to facilitate the sale in order to redeploy capital into new opportunities.  The community was built in the last decade with 33 units of private pay assisted living, with a functional bed capacity of 40. It was a strong operator and often had a waitlist, so we imagine it ran at a healthy margin.  A provider with experience operating similar communities in comparable markets was selected as the buyer, making its first entry into South Dakota with the deal. They paid $4.3 million, or $130,300 per unit. Read More »
Behavioral Buyer Acquires AL Asset

Behavioral Buyer Acquires AL Asset

As investors and developers look ahead to the potential supply-and-demand imbalance in seniors housing in the coming years, we must consider the effect of conversion projects on future supply of assisted living units. With higher expenses and higher capital costs, not every assisted living community (particularly those that are small and/or older) will operate profitably as an assisted living business in the future, depending on the local market, of course. So sellers will increasingly look to alternative use buyers to get either an acceptable price or just any buyer.  We have seen more and more behavioral health buyers look to struggling seniors housing properties for just such... Read More »
KeyBank Finances New Ohio Project

KeyBank Finances New Ohio Project

A new affordable seniors housing community is going up in Columbus with construction financing now in hand. KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment arranged the $93 million in construction financing, which consisted of a $43.3 million construction loan, $23.8 million in low-income housing tax credit financing, and a $25.9 million Forward Fannie mortgage-backed securities (MBS) as collateral for a tax-exempt bonds permanent loan.  Known as The Caravel, the community will consist of 234 units for residents aged 55 and older who earn at or below 50%, 60% and 70% of the area median income (AMI). Kittle Property Group is developing the property in partnership with Homeport, a... Read More »
Blackstone Divests in Kentucky

Blackstone Divests in Kentucky

A large seniors housing community in Lexington, Kentucky, sold with the help of the team at Newmark. Built in 1986 and renovated in both 2015 and 2022 (a significant $6 million renovation in 2022), Richmond Place features 257 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care. There are 183 IL, 60 AL and 14 MC units. We understand the property improved its operations in the last couple years, now exceeding prepandemic occupancy and nearing 95%. With a healthy rate increase pushed through in 2023, we imagine its operating margin has improved as well.  It has most recently been operated by LCS but was previously managed by Brookdale Senior Living for many years. American... Read More »
Sonida Senior Living Keeps Pushing Census

Sonida Senior Living Keeps Pushing Census

We have been impressed by Sonida Senior Living management’s ability to get out of its census, cash flow and balance sheet difficulties over the past year. After some acquisitions this year, the company now operates 93 senior living communities, most of them owned.  In the third quarter, same-community occupancy for 61 communities increased by 210 basis points year over year to 87.0%. That is well ahead of many other operators, as well as higher than the NIC MAP census averages. They are well on their way to hitting the elusive goal of 90% occupancy. Speaking of 90% occupancy, management believes that when they reach it for their same-community portfolio, the NOI margin for these... Read More »
Invesque Divests to Logos Living Capital

Invesque Divests to Logos Living Capital

Logos Living Capital acquired a seven-property seniors housing portfolio from Invesque. The communities were previously managed by Commonwealth Senior Living, and going forward they will be managed by Viva Senior Living, which exclusively manages Logos’ seniors housing assets. The portfolio includes three communities in Maryland (Viva at Bel Air, Viva at Cockeysville and Viva at Hagerstown), three in Virginia (Viva at Stafford, Viva at Fredericksburg and Viva at Berryville) and one in Tennessee (Viva at Oak Ridge). Logos is a long-term believer in the assets, with the goal being to own them for as long as possible and to look at different financing sources over time.  The portfolio... Read More »