GAINESVILLE, FLA. — Continuum Advisors has arranged the sale of The Village at Gainesville, a 639-unit seniors housing community in Gainesville. SantaFe Healthcare Inc. sold the 100-acre asset to funds managed by Fortress Investment Group for an undisclosed price.
The Village at Gainesville consists of nine residential buildings — six independent living, one assisted living and two memory care — and several community clubhouses with amenities. Eighty percent of the residences are dedicated to independent living. Continuum states that the property is considered one of the largest seniors housing rental communities in the United States.
According to the property website, amenities include a fitness center with trainers, pool with a hot tub, tennis and pickleball courts, a reading room, hair salon, woodshop, housekeeping services and internet access.
The community also offers scheduled transportation throughout the grounds and off-campus. The property sits across from Santa Fe College, a two-year community college, and within five miles of the University of Florida.
SantaFe Healthcare has owned and managed The Village at Gainesville for more than 30 years and has overseen three expansion projects at the community from 1986 through 2009. The locally based healthcare owner-operator injected capital expenditures of $3 million annually into the community since 2020, including conducting a renovation of the primary dining and amenities venue.
“We placed utmost importance in selecting a well-capitalized owner committed to ongoing property upgrades and continuity of high-quality care for residents deserving a seamless transition,” said Steven Ziegler, CEO and president of SantaFe HealthCare. “Excess proceeds following the sale will also help SantaFe Healthcare to establish a regional healthcare foundation to serve the area.”
Fortress Investment plans to completely renovate the oldest building at The Village, dubbed the Lake House. The firm will also improve the property’s memory care units and make community-wide upgrades to onsite amenities and facilities.
Jay Jordan and David Kliewer of Continuum represented the seller in the deal. As part of the transaction, Fortress Investment assumed the in-place financing, which Continuum states was the largest healthcare 232(a)(7) loan in HUD’s history at the time of origination. (HUD’s 232(a)(7) product is an FHA-insured refinancing loan for existing HUD multifamily or healthcare properties.)
Continuum is a senior housing investment sales and advisory firm based in Tampa. The firm’s co-founders have closed approximately 200 senior housing transactions across the nation, with about $200 million currently under contract and expected to close in 2025.
SantaFe Healthcare is a Gainesville-based, not-for-profit company that owns hospitals and seniors housing communities in the area. SantaFe Healthcare is the parent company of SantaFe Senior Living, SantaFe Health Foundation and SantaFe Village.
Founded in 1998, Fortress Investment Group has headquarters offices in New York City and Dallas. The firm had approximately $50 billion in assets under management at year-end 2024 on behalf of roughly 2,000 institutional clients and private investors.
— Channing Hamilton