• 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 »
Diamond in the rough

Diamond in the rough

A not-for-profit health system in Alabama, the East Alabama Medical Center, recently exited the assisted living market, selling their three assisted living/memory care communities all located in Auburn. Featuring the only memory care beds (with 84) in the county, licensed as “Specialty Care Assisted Living,” these facilities were built between 1996 and 1999. Under the hospital’s ownership, expenses and staffing ran high, and census suffered party due to insufficient marketing efforts. There was still about $700,000 of EBITDA on $5.9 million of revenues, with 85% occupancy based on units, but those could both be improved under new ownership. The buyer was a partnership between private... Read More »

Will power

A pair of well-located, well-occupied and relatively new assisted living/memory care communities in Suffolk County, New York recently received $62.8 million in financing arranged by Aron Will of CBRE National Senior Housing. The loan, which featured a five-year fixed rate and 60 months of interest only, was placed through a life insurance company and came out to approximately $230,800 per unit. Both communities, owned by a joint venture between Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and The Engel Burman Group, had occupancy rates in the high 90s and are located in affluent towns in the New York City metro area. The 118-unit AL community in Huntington was developed by Engel Burman in 2010,... Read More »

Sell on top, or near it

Despite many believing we have already reached the peak, pricing-wise, in the seniors housing M&A market, it is still a very good time to sell. That is at least what SRP Medical was banking on when it sold its newly built 108-unit assisted living/memory care community to a joint venture between Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and Bridgewood Property Company. Opened in 2013, the community features 60 AL units and 48 MC units and is located near The Woodlands, Texas, in the town of Spring, an area which has seen plenty of seniors housing construction recently. A change in operators a year after opening caused some marketing issues, which contributed to bringing occupancy down to 50%.... Read More »

Harrison Street makes an exit…and a return

An assisted living community in Mesa, Arizona has evolved a lot over its 30-year history. Built in 1985 as low-income housing, it was converted to seniors housing in 1996. Between 2003 and 2007, the owner at the time invested $5 million in renovations that allowed them to more than double rents in that time. Then, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and its operating partner for the community, Milestone Retirement Communities, stepped in to purchase the community in 2008 for $15.85 million, or $90,600 per unit. Over time, the independent living units were reduced to make room for more assisted living. Currently there are 123 AL units, 30 memory care units and 22 IL units in 13 stories.... Read More »

High-quality property opening in high-income area

One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country will soon open its first seniors housing community. River Oaks (in Houston, Texas), the most affluent community in the state of Texas, and among the top ten in the United States, with real estate values ranging from $1 million to over $20 million, is the home to The Village of River Oaks, a 195-unit independent living/assisted living/memory care community to be built by a joint venture between Bridgewood Property Company and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital. The property, featuring 99 IL, 68 AL and 28 MC units, will be managed by an affiliate of Bridgewood, Retirement Center Management, which manages senior living communities in Texas... Read More »