• Did Blackstone Sell Too Soon?

    According to recent media reports, real estate investor The Blackstone Group has sold and is in the process of selling about $1.8 billion in seniors housing assets. It wants to completely exit the seniors housing business which they claim has been a disaster for them. One report stated that they have lost upwards of $600 million across the... Read More »
  • Brookdale Continues Winning Streak

    The big question is, why did this not happen earlier? We are talking about Brookdale Senior Living’s occupancy recovery, and why the previous leadership seemed unable to move the needle, but as soon as they were gone, everything has been on an upward trend. Hmmmmm.  Things are not perfect at Brookdale, but they never were. However,... Read More »
  • National Health Investors Adjusts Its SHOP Portfolio

    National Health Investors, Inc. announced some adjustments to its SHOP portfolio, raising its full-year guidance for the third consecutive quarter due to the contribution of recently transitioned and newly acquired SHOP properties, along with continued strength in its investment pipeline. The REIT also had an update on its lease agreement with... Read More »
  • Strawberry Fields’ Three Separate SNF Transactions

    Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. announced three separate skilled nursing transactions that closed during the third quarter. Two previously announced acquisitions were in Missouri, and the recently announced purchase was in Oklahoma.  In July, the REIT completed the acquisition of nine skilled nursing facilities with 686 beds in Missouri. The... Read More »
  • Receivership Estate Sells in Alabama

    Kory Buzin and Steve Thomes of Blueprint handled another successful sale on behalf of a lender and special servicer, this time involving a receivership estate in Mobile, Alabama. Knollwood Point, a 2001-vintage, 46-unit assisted living and memory care community, struggled in recent years as a result of challenged occupancy and volatile staffing.... Read More »
A financing fit for a Queen

A financing fit for a Queen

A CCRC in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle has plans to add more independent living units as well as a two-story assisted living/memory care building, and is partnering with Ziegler to help finance it. The not-for-profit community opened in 1961 and currently features 124 IL units, 45 AL units and 50 skilled nursing beds, in addition to an intergenerational childcare center. To expand their efforts, Ziegler closed a $57.46 million un-rated, fixed rate bond issue for the CCRC. The financing will also fund additional capital improvements at the community, refund the outstanding Series 1994 bonds, pay a portion of interest on the bonds, fund subaccounts of a debt service reserve fund,... Read More »
Development Alive and Well in New Zealand

Buying and Selling CCRCs and IL Communities

Independent living is riding high and CCRCs have successfully emerged from the Great Recession. We know the independent living acquisition market has been hot, setting records in the past two years. And we know that occupancy levels are among the highest in the seniors housing sector, perhaps because there has not been a lot of new IL development, as least compared with assisted living and memory care. But CCRCs, or Life Plan Communities as some people would prefer to call them, have been making a strong comeback from the Great Recession and housing crisis. Who is buying these CCRCs and how are they valuing them? And how is the acquisition of a CCRC different from that of an independent... Read More »

Another Recession-hit CCRC sells

Nearly a decade on from the housing market collapse in 2007 and despite a relatively strong comeback in the sector, we are still writing about CCRCs just recovering from a drastic drop in entrance fee receipts in the throes of the Great Recession. That being said, three years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a 223-unit CCRC located in the World Golf Village of St. Augustine, Florida, recently sold in auction to a partnership between LCS and HCP. Operated by LCPS Management, the not-for-profit CCRC opened in 2001 and reached 99% occupancy in 2006 and was 94% occupied in 2008 following a 15-cottage independent living expansion. However, during the Great Recession, more... Read More »
New bonds for North Carolina CCRCs

New bonds for North Carolina CCRCs

A not-for-profit owner of three CCRCs, totaling almost 1,000 units in North Carolina, recently refinanced all of its Series 2005 fixed rate bonds with the help of Ziegler. The United Methodist Retirement Homes (UMRH) has partnered with Life Care Services since 2000 to operate its three campuses, which include 622 independent living units, 108 assisted living units and 202 skilled nursing beds. To refinance the outstanding bonds, Ziegler closed a $34.485 million tax-exempt, fixed-rate bond issue, with an aggregate yield-to-maturity of 3.47%. That produces net present value savings of $8.91 million (or 22.47% of the principal amount of the refunded bonds). Davenport & Company served as a... Read More »