


Vestcor Divests Two High-Quality Communities
The market for high-quality seniors housing communities is rebounding, as many owners chose to sit of the sidelines and rebuilding occupancy before making the decision to sell. Last month, Newmark sold two Class A, stabilized seniors housing communities in Florida, working on behalf of the seller, Jacksonville-based Vestcor Communities in the process. The deal included HarborChase of Mandarin in Jacksonville, a 114-unit community that was developed by Vestcor in 2018, and The Grove at Canopy, a 118-unit luxury senior living community in Tallahassee also developed by Vestcor in 2019. Occupancy at the Jacksonville property dipped to 88% during the pandemic but rebounded to 95% and above... Read More »
Chartwell Expands in Ontario
Chartwell Retirement Residences announced the acquisition of three relatively new retirement communities in Ontario, Canada. Two were built in 2017 and one in 2019, and there are a total of 467 units. Occupancies have ranged from 80.4% to 89.5% as of March 1, 2022. They are located in Collingwood (181 units), Barrie (143 units) and Bowmanville (143 units). The seller was MTCO Holdings, and this is Chartwell’s second transaction with them, having purchased three communities from them in 2015. The purchase price was C$228 million, or C$488,000 per unit (US$390,000 per unit). Inclusive in that price is C$3 million to be paid at the earlier of the completion of a 132-unit condominium... Read More »
Oregon Assisted Living Portfolio Sells
A couple of West Coast entities traded a portfolio of four assisted living/memory care communities in Oregon. Located in Brookings (2), Gold Beach and Sheridan, the communities total 190 beds in 169 units. They were built from 1996 to 2000 and averaged around 90% occupancy. Plus, they operated at a decent 23% margin based on 2021 figures. However, the Oregon-based owner/operator seller wanted to recycle their capital for additional expansion opportunities and engaged Jason Punzel, Brad Goodsell and Vince Viverito of Senior Living Investment Brokerage to handle the transaction. A joint venture between a Pacific Northwest operator and a California-based private equity company... Read More »
Bellwether Enterprise Announces Five Transactions
Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC closed five loans to finance nine assisted living and memory care communities in the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest. The loans total $151 million. First, Bridge Investment Group received a $64.8 million Fannie Mae loan for a four-property portfolio, including 422 memory care and assisted living units across the Northeast. Bridge Senior Living is the manager of the communities. BWE also secured a $50 million non-recourse construction loan, from a debt fund, on behalf of Bonaventure, for the development of Aspire Alexandra, a 133-unit independent living community in Alexandria, Virginia. Upon completion, Senior Lifestyle Corp. will manage... Read More »
Chartwell Retirement Residences Exits LTC
Chartwell Retirement Residences announced it has entered into an agreement to substantially exit the long-term care home business in Ontario, Canada with an agreement to sell 16 LTC homes to AgeCare Health Services Inc. and Axium Infrastructure Inc. There are several parts of the transaction, with the most significant being the sale of 16 homes with 2,418 beds for C$382 million, or about C$158,000 per bed. This equates to US$126,400 per bed. The facilities range in size from 64 beds to 235 beds, with the majority over 150 beds. All of these are located in Ontario, and all were owned by Chartwell. Next up is the sale of an existing care home with 100 beds currently in operation, with... Read More »
Panorama Commercial Group Closes Durango, Colorado Deal
Minnesota-based Ameritus Property Fund Durango, LLC acquired an assisted living community with a memory care wing in Durango, Colorado. Purpose-built in 1999 and operated by the original developer, the community is licensed for 70 total beds but operates with 56 units. Census and EBITDA had been declining for several years, and the owner decided to sell after the pandemic, exiting the Colorado market in the process. The purchasing entity, Ameritus, approached the opportunity with the intent to purchase, but wanted to manage the community first. Management was handled by Cornerstone Management Services, a firm engaged in commercial and senior living management in Minnesota, Wisconsin,... Read More »
Front Porch and Covia Merge
Two California not-for-profits with senior living operations across several states merged effective April 1. Front Porch and Covia announced that the merger, which started in 2021, creates a consolidated organization with 19 senior living and 32 affordable housing communities serving approximately 7,500 residents. Other programs and services will connect more than 10,000 participants throughout the country. The deal offers significant financial benefits for both organizations. In August, Fitch and S&P affirmed Front Porch’s ratings of “A” and “A-”, respectively, with both agencies assigning a “stable outlook” to the combined organization’s $305 million public debt refinancing that... Read More »
Lument Announces HUD Deal
Lument announced the closing of an $18.9 million HUD refinance for The Guilford House, a 96-bed assisted living and skilled nursing facility in Guilford, Connecticut. The transaction refinances a blended-rate loan from 2019 provided by Lument to fund an expansion of AL units and services. Aaron Becker, head of seniors housing and healthcare production for Lument, led the transaction. The Guilford House is an individually owned and operated facility managed by the Moffie family, a repeat Lument client with decades of experience in the senior living industry. The Moffies acquired the facility in 2002, when the original building was an obsolete 60-bed SNF that required significant... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Managed Care Continues To Eye Home Health
We don’t need to tell you that the pandemic enabled healthcare to be delivered in the home at historic rates, as patients could see doctors on Zoom, medications could be delivered, and home health aides could provide other care and services. Anything to avoid the dreaded hospital or nursing home while COVID was raging. Coming back from the Spring NIC in Dallas, where we saw abundant optimism (and some caution from a few of you), one may not think this will be a huge threat. But UnitedHealth Group’s potential acquisition of home health provider LHC Group for a reported $5.4 billion reminds us that the penetration rate for in-facility senior care services is always on the verge of falling.... Read More »