RICHMOND, ILL. — Novak Construction has broken ground on a 22,000-square foot affordable senior living apartment complex in Richmond, approximately 70 miles northwest of Chicago. Creekview Apartments, to be located at 5615 Liberty St., will offer four two-bedroom units and 21 one-bedroom units. Amenities at the property will include a walking trail, health and wellness programing, a computer lab, a library, community room, concierge and transportation services and on-site property management. The project is slated for completion by the end of the year.
ATLANTA — Seniors housing by design has both elements of hospitality and healthcare. But which is more important to developers trying to build the next wave of senior facilities? Each developer has a different opinion, based on a development panel at the third-annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference, held Aug. 25 at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta. The all-day event drew approximately 315 industry professionals. Zach Bowyer, managing director of CBRE, moderated the panel entitled “The Outlook for Seniors Housing Development: What’s Being Built, Where, and are Supply and Demand in Balance?” Jeff Arnold, chief operating officer of The United Group of Cos., mostly develops independent living assets in New York, Florida and Georgia. Arnold’s main concern is with the hospitality side of the business, as his projects tend to be lower acuity than some of his counterparts on the stage. “From a design standpoint, we’re trying to drive our age down as much as we can. Right now we trend at about 78 years old. If we could push that under 75, that will give us longevity,” said Arnold. “We try to design more active communities, focusing on things that are more modern.” The independent living sector has legs …
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Texas-based operator Civitas Senior Living and Ohio-based developer Guttman Properties will join forces to develop The Grand of Prospect, a luxury seniors housing community in Louisville. Development costs are estimated at $20 million for the 168-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community. The Grand of Prospect will be located on 14.8 acres. Construction is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2016 for completion in the first quarter of 2018. The project team includes Louisville-based civil engineer Mindel, Scott and Associates Inc. and Columbus, Ohio-based architect pH7 Architects. Guttman and Civitas will co-own the property upon completion.
WILTON MANORS, FLA. — Miami-based Carrfour Supportive Housing has teamed with The Pride Center to build an affordable housing development with a special focus on aging members of the LGBT community. The project, known as The Residences at Equality Park, will be located in Wilton Manors, a city in Broward County. Phase I will feature 48 apartments, 34 of which will be reserved for low-income seniors living with disabling conditions due to HIV/AIDS and other challenges. The remaining units will be reserved for seniors earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI), or roughly $35,000 per year according to Carrfour. Phase I will break ground in the fourth quarter of 2017 with an expected completion in late 2018. Phase II, which will comprise 74 units, will begin at a later date. The Pride Center, a nonprofit LGBT community center, will provide residents with on-site services such as recreation, healthcare consulting and counseling. Carrfour will serve as the project’s developer and operator.
DENVER — A joint venture between Blue Moon Capital Partners LLC, MGL Partners and a subsidiary of Leisure Care are developing a 169-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in the Denver Tech Center neighborhood of Denver. The partnership brings together Boston-based Blue Moon, an investor focused exclusively on seniors housing; Denver-based MGL, a multifamily and seniors housing developer; and Seattle-based Leisure Care, an operator of 39 seniors housing communities. Construction is slated for completion in 2018.
OLATHE, KAN. — CA Ventures LLC and Pathway Senior Living have opened Travanse Living at Olathe, a 132-unit assisted living and memory care community in Olathe, approximately 25 miles southeast of Kansas City. The project is the first seniors housing community developed by CA Ventures, and is a $22 million adaptive reuse project of a former Holiday Inn. The two-story community sits on a seven-acre site near Olathe Medical Center and several medical office buildings. It features 75 assisted living units and 57 memory care units. CA Ventures owns the property, which Pathway operates. The community also features a rehabilitation facility on site — The Rehab Place at Travanse Living at Olathe — which Olathe Health System operates.
IRVINE, CALIF. — WNC, an Irvine-based national investor in real estate and community development, has closed WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 42 L.P., a $102 million institutional low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) fund. The fund is estimated to include 1,504 affordable housing units in total, and is comprised of 17 multifamily and seniors housing communities scheduled for new construction and rehabilitation. The properties will be located in 12 states, including Arkansas, California, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. This is the second national fund and third multi-investor fund WNC has closed in 2016, totaling $329.7 million.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Love Funding has secured a $26.3 million loan for the construction and permanent financing of Overlook at Prestonwood, a seniors housing community under development in Carrollton. Overlook at Prestonwood will offer 183 age-restricted apartment units in one four-story building and five standalone cottages on 5.5 acres. The property will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The main building will also house a clubhouse and other amenities. Love Funding’s Laura Saull-Smith secured the financing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 221(d)(4) loan insurance program. The HUD program provided the development team with low-rate, non-recourse financing for the duration of construction and for a subsequent 40-year term. James Sawyer, president of Warsaw Realty Group, brought the transaction to Love Funding. The principals of the ownership group include Charlie Nicholas, Luke Harry, Steven Rumsey and Chris Willhite. NE Construction will be the general contractor, and Capstone is the property manager. Brian Rumsey of Cross Architects is the architect of record for this project.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Laurel Street Residential, a Charlotte-based affordable housing developer, has broken ground on a 112-unit affordable multifamily community in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlotte. St. Paul Baptist Church is a partner in the development, which includes apartments for both seniors and the general public. The seniors housing component includes 60 units. The units are designated for seniors and families earning 60 percent of the area median income. The development is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017. Miles McClellan Construction is the general contractor, Bohler Engineering is the civil engineer and Neighboring Concepts is the architect. Public and private investments are funding the development, including a 4 percent tax credit and tax-exempt bond allocations from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, a $4.4 million loan from the City of Charlotte Housing Trust Fund, an $8 million construction loan from Bank of America, permanent financing from Greystone and loans from the Zechariah Alexander Community Development Corp. and St. Paul Baptist Church.
EL PASO, TEXAS — Medistar Corp. is a developing a new VibraLife seniors housing community located at 3421 Joe Battle Blvd. in El Paso. Vibra Healthcare LLC will be the operator of the facility. Now under construction across Joe Battle Boulevard from the Hospitals of Providence east campus, the facility will provide 92 total beds, including 60 beds of skilled nursing, 16 beds of assisted living and 16 beds of memory care. Medistar’s Craig Laher is the lead development officer for the project. Pi Architects designed the new VibraLife facility, and SCI Construction Inc. is the general contractor. Construction is scheduled for completion in early 2017.