SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ., AND NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Cadence Senior Living, a Scottsdale-based owner, developer and operator, and Emerald Real Estate Partners LLC, an investment management firm based in Newport Beach, have formed a strategic partnership for investing in seniors housing. According to the companies, the partnership will allow Cadence to expand its portfolio of boutique senior living. Emerald will provide additional acquisition capital, working capital and expertise in increasing scale, due to the company’s experience in other real estate sectors. Emerald principal Josh Martin stated that Emerald “had been searching for a senior living operator with which to grow a platform in this sector.” The Cadence and Emerald partnership is seeking opportunities to acquire existing senior housing communities, develop new communities and leverage Cadence’s management team by operating senior living communities for third-party owners.
PAOLI, PA. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has arranged a $28.5 million Freddie Mac floating-rate mortgage loan for Daylesford Crossing in Paoli, a northwest suburb of Philadelphia. Built in 2015, the Class A property features 64 assisted living and 14 memory care units, as well as commercial space occupied by Ciao Bella Salon and Spa. Carolyn Nazdin of Key’s Healthcare Group arranged the financing, which features a seven-year term, three-year interest-only period and a 30-year amortization schedule.
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. — The Walters Group has started construction of Cornerstone at Seaside, an age- and income-restricted apartment community in Seaside Heights, a coastal borough southeast of Trenton. The 91-unit property will be restricted to residents over the age of 55 and making less than 60 percent of the county’s median income. The community is a redevelopment of an area that formerly featured a motel, lumber yard, hardware store and small apartment building, all of which were demolished in March. The property is slated for completion in November 2018. The Walters Group has several planned and ongoing income-restricted housing developments throughout the state of New Jersey.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Strawberry Fields REIT LLC has acquired Parkway Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, a 252-bed skilled nursing facility in Louisville, for $21.8 million. The acquisition was financed with a $15 million loan from Bank Leumi. Strawberry Fields will lease the property to The Landmark Group, with a first-year rent of $2.4 million. The property was 88.5 percent occupied at the time of sale. The seller was not disclosed. Strawberry Fields owns 59 facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
ATLANTA — By offering paid internships, educational programs, community events and flexible hours, seniors housing leaders hope to combat the well-documented labor shortage and entice younger workers. There simply aren’t enough employees to keep up with the pace of development, and the industry is plagued by high turnover rates as well. That’s according to speakers during an operations update at InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast on Aug. 23 in Atlanta. The conference, held at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta, attracted over 400 industry professionals. Lisa Welshhons, senior vice president of human resources company Aureon, noted the distinct gap between the number of workers needed and actual employees working. As moderator, she asked the panel of operators how the labor shortage is changing the way they are staffing their communities, as well as recruiting and retention strategies. “We’re often asked by our peers and partners what number of communities is our goal, but it’s not about a number of communities. It’s really about continuing to develop as long as we’re able to attract the best-in-class employees,” said Sarabeth Hanson, COO at Harbor Retirement Associates, a regional senior living development and management company in Vero Beach, Fla. Already a concern, the demand for new …
PORTLAND ORE. — CareTrust REIT Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRE) has agreed to acquire 13 skilled nursing facilities in three separate transactions for a total purchase price of $97 million. The properties are located in Idaho, Texas, Oregon and Washington. In the first transaction, CareTrust has acquired three skilled nursing facilities in Idaho as part of a staged, seven-facility portfolio transaction. When completed, the full portfolio price will be $65.5 million, which CareTrust funded with cash on hand and its $400 million unsecured revolving credit facility. The full transaction is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The seven properties, which total 571 beds, will all be added to CareTrust’s master lease with Cascadia Healthcare LLC. CareTrust forecasts an annual cash rent of approximately $5.9 million from the portfolio. In the second transaction, CareTrust acquired Wellspring Health and Rehabilitation of Cascadia, a 53-bed skilled nursing facility in Nampa, Idaho; Secora Health and Rehabilitation of Cascadia, a 120-bed skilled nursing facility in Portland, Ore.; and Brookfield Health and Rehabilitation of Cascadia, an 83-bed skilled nursing facility in Battle Ground, Wash. CareTrust bought the properties for $11.3 million and added all three to the same master lease with Cascadia Healthcare. CareTrust expects …
TUCSON, ARIZ. — Watermark Retirement Communities has opened The Hacienda at the River, a 129-unit assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing community in Tucson. Development costs were estimated at $21 million. Watermark will operate the community, which it developed in a joint venture with The Freshwater Group. The Weitz Company was the general contractor. The new community features a 74,000-square-foot, two-story health care center offering short-term, long-term and hospice care. Also included are 69 assisted living and memory care units spread over a 43,000-square-foot village of single-story homes. The property also houses a 1,600-square-foot stable to offer equine therapy to residents.
PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. — Ridge Care Senior Living has secured an $11.3 million construction loan for the development of Arbor Landing at Pawleys, a 100-unit seniors housing community in Pawleys Island. SunTrust Bank provided the financing for the project. The new community will feature 60 assisted living and 40 memory care units and is expected to create roughly 70 new jobs in the Pawleys Island region. The project marks Ridge Care Senior Living’s entry into the South Carolina market. The Kernersville, N.C.-based company services more than 850 residents in 13 independent living, assisted living and memory care communities throughout North Carolina and West Virginia. Arbor Landing at Pawleys is slated for completion in summer 2018.
SPOTSYLVANIA, VA. — Humanities Foundation, in conjunction with James Doran Co., has broken ground on Keswick Senior Apartments, a 100-unit seniors housing community in Spotsylvania. The $16 million development is located within Keswick, a residential community under development by Jarrell Properties Inc. Located at the intersection of Lake Anna Parkway and Old Robert E. Lee Drive, the community will include 700 townhomes, single-family homes and apartments. Keswick Senior Apartments will features a security system, a community space with a meeting area, business center, exercise room, laundry facility, gazebo and a garden area. The project is being built utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits administered by the Virginia Housing and Development Authority. Citi Community Capital provided construction financing for the project with Boston Capital as the syndicator. The project team includes architect Martin Riley Associates, civil engineer Webb & Associates and land broker Coldwell Banker Elite/Coldwell Banker Commercial.
With construction costs rising and the supply of talented staff diminishing, doing business has never been more expensive for seniors housing developers. As such, both developers and operators are seeking new ways to save money. Increasingly, these groups are considering the role design plays in their projects, with a particular emphasis on identifying design concepts and elements that save on the bottom line without compromising the property’s sense of livability. A panel of seniors housing developers and operators gathered at the Westin Buckhead Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 23 as part of InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast to discuss development trends in today’s market. More than 400 industry professionals attended the conference. Moderator Will Childs, executive vice president of seniors housing for Oracle Healthcare Advisors and based in the firm’s Atlanta office, led the analysis of how construction and labor issues alike are driving developers to think outside the lines. At the most fundamental level, many new designs for seniors housing properties share the goal of repurposing common and outdoor spaces, according to panelist Alan Moise, chief investment officer for Atlanta-based Thrive Development Partners. “Overall pricing for development projects in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic is probably up about 6 percent this year,” …