The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is awarding nearly $26 million in grants to the owners of 11 multi-family housing developments to convert a portion of their apartments into assisted living or service-enriched units.

The funding is provided through HUD’s Assisted Living Conversion Program, meant to support the transformation of housing into service-enriched units to accommodate the needs of seniors seeking to remain in their homes and age in place.

“We’re getting older as a nation and with that demographic shift, there is a growing demand for affordable housing that will allow our seniors to live independently in their own homes,” said Carol Galante, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner.  “These grants will help these apartment owners to convert their properties into assisted living or service-enriched environments that will allow seniors to remain in their homes for as long as they can.”

Through the program, private, nonprofit owners of eligible developments who have the resources to convert some or all of their dwelling units into assisted living or service-enriched housing for aging in place can receive HUD funding. 

Assisted living units must provide support services such as personal care, transportation, meals, housekeeping, and laundry. 

Service-enriched housing units must make supportive services available for residents who are able to live independently but need assistance with activities of daily living through a licensed or certified third-party service provider. 

National Church Residences and Ken-Ton Presbyterian Village are among the grant recipients, with the largest award—$4.09 million—going to The Lesley Foundation in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Earlier this year, NCR’s Home and Community Services received 46 social service coordination grants totaling $10.5 million from HUD. 

“HUD’s support of our service coordination program will allow National Church Residences to substantially increase our level of service to scores of low-income senior housing residents across the country,” said Terry Allton, vice president of Home and Community Services, at the time of the announcement. “Service coordination is a proven, effective method of fostering independence and allowing seniors to more successfully age-in-place in their own homes.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The post HUD Awards $26 Million to Address Affordable Senior Housing Shortage appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Happy New Year, senior housing professionals! It’s 2013, and we have a whole new round-up of people who have been making moves and shaking things up in the industry.

Did any of your new year’s resolutions include taking a new position or joining a different company? Look for senior housing jobs nationwide on SHN’s job board.

Employers: Take advantage of our job board to look for some of the best and brightest in the industry. Post a job on the SHN job board for less than $1 per day, and attract local and national candidates through our system that leverages these postings throughout the SimplyHired network. Post a job now.

Cantata Adult Life Services Names John Larson CEO

Chicago-based not-for-profit Cantata Adult Life Services promoted John Larson to Chief Executive Officer this month. Larson takes over for Dennis Sonnenberg, who will assume a new role as Foundation President. In Larson’s new role as head of Cantata, he will spearhead the company’s ongoing efforts to expand and initiate new business ventures and partnerships, including a consulting arm of the Cantata parent company that will offer consulting services to other adult life services organizations seeking to improve operational efficiencies and outcomes.

As Chief Operating/Financial Officer for Cantata, Larson lead the charge to form a new strategic vision for the organization, positioning Cantata Adult Life Services to become one of the premier providers of services to older adults and their families in the Chicago area.

Larson brings with him thirty years of experience in finance, operations, information systems and management. Larson’s career began in finance with Old Republic International Corporation. He currently serves as Treasurer of Trinity Risk Solutions, and is a past treasurer for Abbeyfield Senior Housing. Larson serves on several advisory committees, and was named an American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) Leadership Fellow in 2009. Larson earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from University of Illinois at Chicago.

GlynnDevins Promotes Jeremy Johnson to VP of Creative

GlynnDevins Advertising & Marketing announces the promotion of Jeremy Johnson as vice president of creative for the marketing and advertising agency, which specializes in the field of senior living.

As vice president of creative, Johnson will be responsible for overseeing the creative department, including the conceptual development and execution of all creative materials.

Johnson has more than 15 years of creative experience and is a veteran of GlynnDevins, joining the team in August 2000. He is actively involved in the American Advertising Federation of Kansas City (AFFKC), having served as president of AAFKC Art+Copy Club and currently serving as a 2013 ADDY Show Chair.

Life Care Services Appoints Julie Bissonnette as Executive Director of Newcastle Place

Life Care Services, an LCS company, recently assumed management of Mequon senior living community Newcastle Place, and it has named Julie Bissonnette as executive director. Bissonnette will oversee all operations at the community recently purchased by LCS.

Bissonnette brings years of senior living management experience to Newcastle Place having worked at three Life Care Services communities prior to accepting the position. She has held roles of increasing responsibility, including the position of executive director at Peabody Retirement Community in North Manchester, Ind.

With Life Care Services now managing Newcastle Place, Bissonnette will guide the implementation of some of the company’s signature programs at the community including a customer service initiative and a resident wellness plan. She and her staff are also currently soliciting input from all Newcastle Place residents with a survey to gauge opinions on the operations and services such as dining, transportation and resident activities.

Bissonnette holds a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and she lives with her husband in Oak Creek.

The Barrington of Carmel Names Dana Shore Director of Sales and Marketing

The Barrington of Carmel senior living community has named Dana Shore director of sales and marketing. The announcement was made by Kristen McCaig, vice president of corporate sales and marketing for Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation, which sponsors The Barrington.

Shore brings to The Barrington more than 20 years experience in sales and marketing as well as in management. Prior to joining The Barrington, Shore performed in many roles at Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest provider of senior housing, in Indianapolis.  Her roles there included sales and marketing manager, national sales specialist and director of sales and marketing of the entry fee division.  

Omnicare Names Bob Dries SVP of Financial Operations, LTC Group

Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE: OCR) today announced Bob Dries has been appointed Senior Vice President Financial Operations, Long-Term Care Group.

Mr. Dries will have broad-based financial and operating responsibility for Omnicare’s Long-Term Care business. He will report directly to Nitin Sahney, Omnicare’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Dries has been working at Omnicare in roles of increasing responsibility since 1996 and brings an extensive experience within pharmaceutical services into his new role.  Most recently, Mr. Dries served as Senior Vice President of the Operations Finance Group after having served as Vice President and Group Executive of the Operations Finance Group from 2005 to 2010. He previously served as Vice President of Internal Audit from 1999 to 2005 and Director of Internal Audit from 1996 to 1999.

Prior to working at Omnicare, Mr. Dries held various positions at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Dries received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, with a major in Finance, from the University of Kentucky. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Senior Living Management Names Jonathan Sperber as Executive Director of The Peninsula

Senior Living Management (SLM) is pleased to announce Jonathan Sperber has been named executive director for The Peninsula, an assisted living and memory care community located in southern Broward County. He is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management team of The Peninsula and to assure the quality of care for residents.

Sperber’s experience in senior living management has included managerial positions with leading providers of independent, assisted living and memory care communities. Most recently he was associated with Atria Senior Living in Riverdale, N.Y., and served as an executive director leading the day-to-day operations, recruiting and training team members and successfully maintaining high customer satisfaction.

For five years, he was with Sunrise Senior Living and also held management positions at communities in New York City and Stamford, Conn. He was promoted to executive director having joined the company as a Reminiscence Coordinator. During his tenure with Sunrise, he was credited with restructuring and renovation an Alzheimer’s Dementia Care Department achieving 100% deficiency-free quality and maintaining 100% occupancy levels. The company honored him for his work in assisted living services.

Sperber earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Yeshiva University in N.Y., and a Master of Science degree in hospitality management from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J. He is a native South Floridian and is bilingual and fluent in Spanish.

Ross Dickmann Named Executive Director of The Terraces at Bonita Springs

SantaFe Senior Living has named Ross Dickmann as the executive director of new senior living community The Terraces at Bonita Springs, in Bonita Springs, Fla.  Dickmann is responsible for the start of operations and managing day-to-day operations of The Terraces, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in the summer of 2013.

Dickmann has more than 15 years of leadership experience in senior living. He’s led successful openings and ongoing operations of communities in Washington, D.C.; Aventura, Fla; and most recently Querencia at Barton Creek, a retirement community located in Austin, Tex. Prior to his career in senior living, Dickmann spent 20 years in active service in the U.S. Coast Guard, achieving the rank of Master Chief before his retirement.

A well-known leader in senior living, Dickmann has received numerous awards and special recognition in his career for achievements, including resident satisfaction, fiscal management, highest sustained occupancy and excellence in hospitality.

The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens Adds to Culinary Team

The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens has added two highly experienced professionals to The Terraces’ culinary team, and is in the process of building three new dining venues for residents, which will open in the summer of 2013.

New Executive Chef Todd VanDerPoel is a master chocolatier and a self-taught ice sculptor, who looks forward to wowing residents with his stunning ice sculptures and chocolate designs. With more than 20 years of experience, the award-winning chef loves to cook with a modern flair, and focuses on local, fresh and seasonal foods. 

VanDerPoel has been cooking since the age of 16. He received culinary certification from the American Culinary Federation from Fresno City College and attended the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. Previously, he was part of the culinary teams at the San Joaquin Country Club and Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno.

The community also named Jason Quigley as director of dining services. Before joining The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens, Quigley worked as general manager for Marriott Hotels in Miami, and has held many positions in the hospitality industry.

In May, The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens plans to open three new dining areas, including fine and casual dining. Quigley and VanDerPoel will be responsible for designing menus for more than 300 residents and creating more than 1,200 meals a day.

Friends House Hires Travis Staples as Executive Director

Friends House, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community in Santa Rosa, California, and Pacific Retirement Services, Inc. (PRS), a not-for-profit senior housing and care provider that manages Friends House through its California affiliate, Retirement Services, LLC, has appointed Travis N. Staples, NHA, as Executive Director of Friends House, effective immediately. 

Staples is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator in Oregon and California. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Certificate of Applied Finance and Economics, both from Southern Oregon University. During college, he was awarded an internship at PRS, which owns and manages several CCRCs and senior affordable housing centers in five states.

He gained a breadth of experience while serving in various capacities at the PRS headquarters in Medford, Ore. Later, he was hired by PRS to be a Management Analyst, working concurrently as the interim Executive Director of Friends House.

National Lutheran Community CCRC Appoints New Executive Director

The Village at Rockville—A National Lutheran Community (TVAR) in Rockville, Md., announced Jana Broughton as its new Executive Director. Following an executive search, Broughton was selected to take the helm at TVAR effective Jan. 2, 2013.

A native of Michigan, Broughton relocated to Northern Virginia with her husband in the spring of 2012. Most recently she was the Executive Director for Fellowship Square Foundation, a provider of affordable housing for the elderly and disabled in the Washington, D.C.-area.

Broughton, a licensed Nursing Home Administrator, has more than 19 years of administrative and leadership experience in skilled and long-term care settings with MediLodge Group, Inc. in Washington, Mich. In her career she has been a corporate-level specialist, professional speaker, educator, lobbyist, marketing project manager and consultant. She also served a four-year term on the Health Care Association of Michigan’s board as an advocate for senior care.

She has a B.A. in social work and sociology from the University of Michigan in Flint, Mich., and is currently pursuing her M.S. in management and leadership from Walsh College in Novi, Mich. Broughton lives in Fairfax with her husband Jeff and they have three adult children and three grandchildren. They attend Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Herndon, Va.

NCR COO Elected Vice Chair of LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors

Mark Ricketts, Corporate Chief Operating Officer for National Church Residences headquartered in Columbus, was elected Vice Chair of the LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors. Ricketts is currently serving his first three-year term on the LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors.

As Vice Chair, Ricketts serves as a member of the LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors and Executive Committee, continuing his service in setting policy for the state association and helping to monitor the overall performance of the statewide association. Ricketts previously served as an Ohio Delegate to LeadingAge, the affiliated national association of LeadingAge Ohio. He has also served on the national association’s Leadership Circle and Membership Committee as well as on the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), Housing Partnership Network and Midwest and National Affordable Housing Management Associations.

Ricketts was recently named Corporate Chief Operating Officer after 12 years serving as Senior Vice President and COO (Affordable Housing). National Church Residences is the nation’s largest not-for-profit developer and manager of affordable senior housing, with more than 330 communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition, National Church Residences operates supportive housing for the formerly homeless, continuing care retirement communities, home health care, assisted living, adult day care and skilled nursing facilities.

Healthsense Names A.R. Weiler Chief Executive Officer & President

Healthsense, Inc., the leading provider of next-generation remote monitoring solutions for the senior care market, today announced that A.R. Weiler has joined the company as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Healthsense’s co-founder and previous CEO, Brian Bischoff, will serve as a consultant to the company. 

Weiler is a health-care industry veteran who brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to Healthsense. He has held a variety of executive positions including senior vice president of payer services for Emdeon, senior vice president for Virgin HealthMiles, senior vice president of provider sales and account management at UnitedHealth Group’s Ingenix, and vice president of Oracle’s North America health-care division.

In recruiting Weiler to lead the Healthsense team, the company accelerates the momentum around extending the reach of its remote monitoring platform throughout senior living communities and homes across the United States. An established leader in providing solutions to the congregate senior living space, Healthsense is poised for an exciting expansion into the dual eligible and Medicare Advantage markets.

To support Healthsense’s expansion plan, the company recently raised an additional $7 million in financing from two industry partners: Merck’s Global Health Innovation Fund, LLC (GHIF) and Fallon Community Health Plan (Fallon). GHIF and Fallon joined Healthsense’s existing investors in the round, including Radius Ventures, Ziegler and the West Health Investment Fund.

The company’s leading product is the eNeighbor® passive monitoring and analytics platform, which offers caregivers the ability to proactively identify emerging health concerns before they turn into emergencies. Care providers can also be automatically alerted to emergent situations like falls or nighttime wandering, minimizing the potentially catastrophic consequences of such events. Healthsense’s suite of solutions can meet the monitoring and oversight needs of individuals across the continuum of care, helping them remain independent, safe and secure.

Scott Kavel Joins Greystone’s Seniors Housing Group

Greystone, a leading national provider of multifamily and commercial mortgage loans, recently announced that Scott Kavel has joined the firm’s seniors housing group as Managing Director. Based in Atlanta, the seniors housing group seeks to arrange debt and equity for borrowers across the United States, working with agency partners such as Fannie Mae and FHA, along with offering its own capital for bridge and mezzanine loans.

Kavel brings more than 20 years of experience to Greystone and has arranged approximately $5 billion in seniors housing finance throughout his distinguished career. As Managing Director, Kavel will work closely with the current team to develop and expand their client relationships, as well as originate new seniors housing business. He will report to Joe Mosley, Executive Managing Director of Greystone Servicing Corporation.

Kavel holds an MBA in Real Estate and Risk Management from the University of Georgia, and a BS in Accounting from Florida State University.

United Methodist Retirement Communities Welcomes Sherry Taylor to Board

United Methodist Retirement Communities, Inc. (UMRC) has announced Sherry Taylor as the latest appointment to its Board of Trustees.

Taylor has been a partner at the Detroit-based law firm Dickinson Wright since 2009, when she was also named one of 20 Up and Coming Lawyers by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. In 2010 and 2011, she was named a Michigan Super Lawyer’s “Rising Star” in the areas of employee benefits and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act.

Taylor is a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Litigation Council, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Straker Bar Association, Wolverine Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP’s Legal Redress Committee.

She earned a Juris Doctor from the Wayne State University Law School and resides in Southfield.

The post Movers & Shakers – People and Positions for January 2013 appeared first on Senior Housing News.

National Church Residences has completed the sale of $52,405,000 in bonds and invested another $10 million to allow First Community Village, a continuing care retirement community it sponsors, to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the not-for-profit announced last week.

The bond proceeds will also be used to fund the construction of more manor homes along with some additional improvements.

NCR took control of First Community Village, located in Upper Arlington, Ohio, as part of its 2010 reorganization after the community fell into financial hardship following the construction of some luxury independent living units.

The CCRC had been operating as an independent not-for-profit organization with its own board, which appointed NCR to manage the community through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, said Karen Twinem, a spokesperson for NCR. The bankruptcy court eventually appointed NCR as full (and sole) sponsor.

By issuing the bonds plus the $10 million cash infusion, NCR will be able to pay off First Community Village’s remaining bankruptcy debts two years early. The Franklin County Hospital Commission approved issuing the Health Care Facilities Revenue Refunding Bonds for the CCRC in January.

“We decided to sell the bonds now rather than two years from now because of the current operating performance and today’s low interest rate environment,” said Joe Kasberg, NCR’s CFO. The original reorganization plan called for a lump $54 million payment in 2015 to banks to satisfy debts from construction of luxury apartments at First Community Village.

The banks agreed to write off 25% of the community’s debt as part of the reorganization and with the bond sale, leaving First Community Village “financially stable and free and clear of debt,” Twinem said. 

“Now that we have stabilized its finances, we are excited to finish the renovations at its skilled nursing center and complete the manor homes,” said National Church Residences President and CEO Thomas W. Slemmer in a statement.

NCR will use $2 million from the bond sale to complete the renovations of the skilled nursing facility at First Community Village, including bathroom and shower upgrades and cosmetic renovations. Construction will commence soon on an additional 12 manor homes.

The first phase of the skilled nursing renovation at First Community Village has already been completed since NCR took control of the CCRC, with a philanthropic gift of $1.2 million facilitating the development of a new central therapy room, neighborhood dining spaces, the addition of a private dining room and library/lounge for residents, the installation of an electronic medical records system, and remodeling of some of the community’s one- and two-bedroom units.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The post NCR-Sponsored CCRC Emerges from Bankruptcy With $52 Million Bond Sale appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Recognizing an industrywide trend, one nonprofit developer of affordable senior housing has expanded its supportive services to include both residential and medical care under one roof, The Columbus Dispatch reports. 

National Church Residences (NCR), a Columbus, Ohio-based provider, offers health care at dozens of its Ohio locations, which include assisted living, home health care and hospice, nursing homes, as well as continuing care retirement communities. The organization is currently working on a nearly $20 million supportive housing redevelopment project. 

The objective of incorporating healthcare services with residential care, according to NCR, is to keep people healthy in their homes.

“If we keep them health at home, in the long run it improves their quality of life and it helps contain health-care costs,” said Jeff Wolf, senior vice president of NCR, in the article. 

Serving more than 25,000 residents within more than 300 facilities in 28 states and Puerto Rico, NCR’s large housing and healthcare footprints made combining the two service “a reality.”

“The service-coordination program that we have is really important,” Wolf said. “It really sets us apart from just being a housing provider. It’s being a provider of housing plus service.”

Recently, charitable nonprofit The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation provided a $500,000 grant to support one of NCR’s latest projects—the redevelopment of Atlanta’s Imperial Hotel into a permanent supportive housing community.  

When completed sometime in early 2014, the $19.98 million project will contain 90 apartments with an improved floor plan, updated office space, and resident amenities that will add to NCR’s service-enriched housing model.

“This facility focuses even more specifically on the most vulnerable within the community of older adults and those with disabilities. It is also a great model of linking affordable housing with services, all wrapped within a vision of community renewal,” said Barry Schloss, Weinberg Foundation Trustee.

Read The Columbus Dispatch article.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post Affordable Senior Housing Turns to Healthcare Services appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Following the release of the LeadingAge-Ziegler 100, the two companies have teamed up again to rank the largest nonprofit affordable senior housing providers in the country.

The 2013 LeadingAge-Ziegler 100 finds that Ohio-based National Church Residences is the largest not-for-profit affordable housing provider with more than 16,000 residents being served across 228 communities.

The list also finds that 10 of the 25 largest providers are headquartered in California. Within the state, Retirement Housing Foundation takes the top spot with 10,092 affordable housing units across 115 communities. 

While National Church Residences may be the largest provider in terms of affordable housing, when combining both affordable housing units and market-rate units, the provider ranks slightly below Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society of South Dakota. 

Combined, Evangelical Lutheran’s network encompasses nearly 19,000 market-rate units and roughly 1,200 affordable housing units makes it the largest nonprofit senior living provider in the country.

Here’s the 2013 LeadingAge Ziegler Top 10 (ranked by total affordable housing units only):

1. National Church Residences (OH) — 16,274 units
2. Retirement Housing Foundation (CA) — 10,092 units
3. Volunteers of America (VA) — 9,974
4. Mercy Housing (CO) — 5,457 units
5. Christian Church Homes of Northern California (CA)— 5,052 units
6. Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation (FL) — 4,296 units
7. Senior Housing Assistance Group (WA) — 4,163 units
8. Menorah Housing Foundation (CA) — 2,819 units
9. TELACU Residential Management (CA) —2,625 units
10. Catholic Housing Management (FL) — 2,246 units

While the first five providers held down their same spots in 2013 as they did in the preceding year, there was some fluctuation in rankings #6-#10, as Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation moved up one spot from #7 in 2012 to the #6 spot in 2013. 

Click here to view the full list, along with other data and charts compiled by LeadingAge and Ziegler. 

Written by Jason Oliva

The post LeadingAge-Ziegler Rank Largest Affordable Senior Housing Providers appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Senior housing operators will be forced to address the growing need of low- to moderate-income seniors in the coming years, as an estimated 3.5 million seniors today don’t have enough money to pay for higher acuity services.

The high-end senior living facilities that have emerged within the past few years just won’t cut it when facing a demographic that has more health care needs, but less money to pay for services and amenities, experts said during an Irving Levin Associates webinar Thursday.

This gap in care will ultimately push the senior housing industry to provide more affordable options, not just for the 3.5 million seniors currently living below the poverty level, but also the large cohort of middle-class Americans who are aging.

“The demographic is going to drive it,” said Alayna Waldrum, housing legislative representative at LeadingAge, during the webinar. “To the extent that anyone wants to grow, you’re going to have to look at where there are unmet needs. I think for a lot of the luxury models and the higher priced [facilities] … it’s going to be really difficult to continue keeping those filled.”

The Need

This month, a report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and the AARP Foundation found that while a growing number of the population will require the care that assisted living or nursing home facilities provide, the cost of senior living is too much for the average older homeowner and renter.

Assisted living is estimated to cost between $3,000 and $6,000 per month, while nursing home expenses can amount to $10,000 to $15,000 per month when paid for privately.

“Most seniors can’t afford private long-term care options,” Waldrum said. “It’s not just an issue about people who have very low incomes. I think very few middle-class families are in a situation where they can afford the $3,000 to $6,000 a month for assisted living. It’s really a struggle for folks to meet those housing [needs].”

Cue: business opportunities for the senior living industry.

The Opportunity

One incentive for providing affordable housing to seniors is the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) Program, which is an indirect federal subsidy used to finance the development of affordable rental housing for low-income households.

The program was created in 1986 to provide the private market an incentive to invest in affordable rental housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Federal housing tax credits are awarded to developers of qualified projects. The developers then sell these credits to investors to raise capital, or equity, for their projects, which reduces the debt that the developer would otherwise have to borrow. Because the debt is lower, a tax credit property can, in turn, offer lower, more affordable rents.

Through LIHTC, senior housing developers will have relatively little out-of-pocket expenses going into the development, but will still be able to serve this growing population.

The caveat: “The gates have closed in many states for developers who aren’t experienced in the program,” says Gates Dunaway, founder and managing principal of The Gates Dunaway Group, an affordable housing consultancy. “To do a tax credit deal, you need to have prior experience.”

However, senior housing operators and developers can still find ways to access equity and lower their operational costs in order to reduce rents and target the low- to moderate-income demographic, she said.

They can increase equity by looking for projects that trigger tax credit boosts, such as those located in difficult-to-develop areas, through the rehabilitation of historic buildings and through grants and subsidized loans.

“These increase equity, reduce debt and make it possible to lower rents on a certain number of units,” Dunaway said.

They can also look for ways to decrease expenses through favorable property tax treatment, historic property tax abatement and green building practices.

But overwhelmingly, the incentive for developing affordable senior housing comes not from tax credits or grants. Instead, it comes from a strong market demand that will shape the industry as rapid growth in the 65-plus population will bring a rise in the number of low-income households.

By 2024, 6.5 million households will have incomes less than $15,000, a jump of 1.8 million, or 37%, in a single decade, the Harvard/AARP study finds. Growth in the number of older households with incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 would add another 2.9 million to the ranks of low-income households.

“The other incentive for folks to understand and to ultimately serve low- and moderate-income seniors is just pure demographics,” said Matt Rule, vice president of affordable housing development at National Church Residences. “It’s a large population and is growing. What we’re seeing is there’s really a need on [existing] campuses to create a different product that serves a senior at a different price point.”

Some providers have found a sweet spot in serving middle-income seniors, but they are limited in number. Bridgewood Property Group, a developer whose projects historically skewed toward the luxury side of senior housing, has branched out in recent years to address the needs of a less affluent clientele, finding that targeting the middle-income bracket offers lower development costs and anticipated demand.

Others are even providing market-rate developments located within close proximity to more affordable housing options. Presbyterian Senior Living opened Heritage Run, its newest market-rate building in Baltimore, Md., earlier this year.

“It may not be that you’re positioned to understand and jump immediately into deep rent-skewing, but it may be that it certainly is in line with your current business model to focus on a moderate-income senior as opposed to a more mid-market or higher-income senior,” Rule said.

Written by Emily Study

The post Affordable Senior Housing Is the Next Big Growth Opportunity appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Construction: Planned

Ryan Companies Plan Senior Living Community for Sioux Falls, SD

Minneapolis-based developer Ryan Companies received approval from the Sioux Falls Planning Commission to build a 145-unit senior housing community near Lake Lorraine in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, reports local Keloland TV.

Grand Living, as the project is dubbed in Ryan Companies’ plans, is planned for the Lake Lorraine Lifestyle Center on the southeast corner of the lake.

Of the 145 proposed units, 69 will be reserved for independent living, 40 for assisted living and 36 units for memory care. Further details on the project are still to come.

Bickford Senior Living Eyes Two Sites for New Virginia Projects

Kansas-based Bickford Senior Living has plans to construct two senior living communities in Virginia’s Chesterfield and Henrico counties as the company makes its first foray into the state, reports Richmond Biz Sense.

Though it has yet to close on either site, Bickford is reportedly eyeing a 4.5 acre location in Chesterfield and a 7.58 acre site in Chesterfield. The company will go before each of the counties’ respective Planning Commissions this month to seek rezoning requests.

Each 37,000-square-foot building will take about a year to build, said the attorney representing Bickford in the article.

Missouri Regulators Approve Plans to Build Green House Homes

Last week, The Healthcare Facilities Review Committee of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services unanimously approved an 80-bed Certificate of Need to St. Charles, MO-based Focused Senior Communities to build and operate eight Green House Homes in Ozark.

The homes will be the first in the state of their kind, reported The Green House Project, an organization that specializes in building these facilities whose concept is based on reinventing the traditional skilled nursing facility.

Each of the eight homes will encompass 7,000-square-feet and will include a central dining room, heart room and open kitchen surrounded with 10 private bedrooms, each with a full private bathroom. Additionally, a screened porch will also be featured, leading out to a patio.

Focused Senior Communities plans to break ground in the spring and be open by late fall 2015.

Construction: In process

Woodlands Senior Living Breaks Ground on $6.5 Million Memory Care Project

Waterville, Maine-based company Woodlands Senior Living broke ground this week on a new $6.5 million memory care facility in Lewiston, ME.

The 64-bed community is the first purpose-built, ground-up memory care facility in the Lewiston-Auburn area designed to meet the area’s growing demand for memory care services in Central Maine, Woodlands said in a release.

Currently, Woodlands operates six other assisted living and memory care locations throughout Maine. Each one features a modern, secure environment as well as trained staff committed to serving the residents living at each property, the company stated.

Avanti Senior LIving to Open Welcome Center for Upcoming Community

The Woodlands, Texas-based Avanti Senior Living will open a welcome center this weekend to provide prospective residents and their families a first glimpse into its forthcoming community currently under development in Cypress, Texas, reports Houston Chronicle.

Starting November 15, Avanti will open the welcome center for its community Avanti at Towne Lake, allowing the public to view features of the units that will comprise its facility once it opens next summer.

The welcome center unit will feature the same finishes, furniture, cabinets, sinks and flooring that will be in the Towne Lake suites. The center will also have three-dimensional renderings and pictures to show the community’s layout and design.

When complete, Avanti at Towne Lake will consist of 50 assisted living suites and 40 suites dedicated for memory care. Large windows, both wood and carpet flooring, walk-in closets, oversized showers, stone countertops and upgraded plumbing finishes will also be included within the community’s suites.

Amenities for the community include a wellness center, theater, full-service salon and spa, an art studio, among other services.

Construction: Completed

National Church Residences Celebrates Renovation of Senior Apartments

Last month, not-for-profit senior housing provider National Church Residences (NCR) celebrated the completion of a $2.2 million renovation of an affordable senior housing apartment complex in Toledo, Ohio.

The renovation of NCR’s Arlington by the Lake community, a 51-unit apartment complex for low-income seniors, included an updated community room and kitchen, a three-season room with a patio, a fitness center, a business center and a new lobby.

The building systems were also improved as a result with updated fire suppressor systems, new air conditioning units, new windows, doors siding, root, landscaping and property sign.

The $2.2 million reflect the actual construction costs, with additional funds used for fees and development. The renovation was also funded by a loan from Lancaster Pollard, short-term bonds issued by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) and purchased by Bank of America, OHFA R-TCAP bridge loan and monies from National Church Residences.

Project architect for the renovation was Columbus, Ohio-based Berardi + Partners, and Snavely Construction of  was the contractor.

Colo. Affordable Senior Housing Community Opens First Green House Homes

Late last month, the campus of Mirasol Senior Living Community in Loveland, Colorado, celebrated the opening of its first Green House homes.

The $17 million project created six Green House homes, with each including 10 private bedrooms and bath, an open kitchen, a hearth area along with a variety of other open spaces meant to foster socialization among its inhabitants.

The Green House Homes at Mirasol was spearheaded by The Green House Project, which is part of Capital Impact Partners, a certified community development institution that led the financing for the project.

Additional funding for the project included a $2 million grand from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation; program related investments from the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; $2.5 million New Market Tac Credits; $3.4 million in ta credit equity from JPMorgan Chase; plus a land donation by the Loveland Housing Authority.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (11/13/14) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Construction: Planned

Erickson Living Plans Expansion at Mass. CCRC

Erickson Living’s Brooksby Village, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Peabody, Mass., plans to expand its existing campus by adding a one-story addition to its Extended Care Center, according to plans the company filed with the city, as reported by The Salem News.

The expansion will consist of 28 new assisted care units that will provide housing for up to 32 residents and lead to the creation of 19 jobs, according to the plans. The project will create 124 assisted living units on campus, in addition to the existing 1,352 apartments and 104 skilled nursing beds. Common dining and activity areas will also be included as part of the expansion plans.

Construction is slated to begin in May 2015 and anticipated to be completed the following spring, pending all city approvals and permits.

Currently, Brooksby Village has 10 buildings on campus serving more than 1,700 residents with about 600 employees. The community first opened in 2000.

Construction: In process

National Church Residences Underway on $2 Million Expansion

Construction has begun on a $2 million expansion project at Water’s Edge of Lake Wales, a National Church Residences community in Lake Wales, Florida.

NCR is adding five single-story buildings, each containing two villa homes that feature a two-car garage, a formal entry, living room and dining area, large open kitchen, master suite with a walk-in closet and private bath, guest bedroom and guest bath, as well as a laundry/mud room, a utility closet and screened porch.

The expansion also includes modifying the community’s existing retention pond.

Columbus, Ohio-based Berardi Partners and Ruscilli Construction, also of Columbus, are the architect and general contractor.

Originally developed in 2008, Water’s Edge of Lake Wales currently has 126 units, including 12 existing villas, 68 independent living apartments, 30 assisted living apartments and 16 memory care units.

NCR expects the expansion to be completed in August 2015.

Country Meadows Retirement Communities Breaks Ground in Forks Township, Penn.

Country Meadows Retirement Communities held a groundbreaking ceremony this week on its fourth location in greater Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The new community will be located in Forks Township, and is projected to comprise $15 million in development costs, according to a local report by LVB.com. It will offer independent living, personal care services and  memory care services.

The location could serve as a satellite campus to other Country Meadows locations, company executives told the news outlet.

Amenities planned for the new construction include garden and courtyard areas, community life program activities and floor plans spanning both studio units and one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The construction company, eciService, based in Dillsburg, York County, expects to complete construction in early 2016.

Joseph J. Duffy Co. Nears Completion of Senior Apartments in Chicago

Joseph J. Duffy Company, a Chicago-area general contractor, expects to complete by December one of its latest projects, Porta Coeli, an income- and age-restricted senior housing apartment building in Chicago’s 10th Ward for Catholic Charities.

The four-story facility will contain 86 one-bedroom units, each complete with their own kitchen. Amenities include a beauty salon, wellness center, community room equipped with a kitchen, multipurpose activity room, among other tenant benefits, Duffy Co. stated in a release.

Several green features were added to the building as a result of construction, including a green roof, energy recovery for the HVAC system and solar heated hot water.

Porta Coeli will provide affordable independent housing for the elderly who earn up to 30% of the area’s median income.

HUD’s Section 202 Senior Housing Development Program provided funding for the construction of Porta Coeli, which represents the eighth HUD 202 facility Duffy has built for Catholic Charities.

HUD Secretary Tours Texas Affordable Housing Complex Under Renovation

As the latest stop on HUD Secretary Julian Castro’s Opportunity and Investment Community Tour, HUD Secretary Julian Castro toured the Fair Oaks Apartments Senior Citizen complex Wednesday.

The Fair Oaks Apartments are part of select Fort Worth Housing Authority (FWHA) properties currently undergoing revocations through HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD).

The purpose of Secretary Castro’s visit is part of his travels across the country to gain a better understanding of housing and urban development issues facing communities nationwide.

Construction: Completed

Resort-Inspired 55+ Apartments Now Open in Costa Mesa, Calif.

An award-winning, 215-unit apartment complex for adults age 55 and older is now open in Costa Mesa, California, with nearly 70 apartments already occupied.

The Santa Barbara-style, resort-inspired project, dubbed Azulon at Mesa Verde, was developed by Costa Mesa-based M.V. Partners. The project was recognized as an “On the Boards” Project of the Year winner from the 55+ Housing Council, a special interest council of the Building Industry Association of Southern California.

Situated on 7.5 aces, with 40% of the community open space, Azulon is adjacent to Mesa Verde Center and offers residents direct access to the adjoining neighborhood retail center.

Azulon is a walkable apartment community where residents can enjoy not only neighborhood retail, but also dining and convenience services without the need to drive.

The community’s resort-style amenities arrive in the form of a saltwater pool and spa, poolside cabanas and shade trellises, outdoor fireplaces, gas barbecues and alfresco dining areas. Forty 50-year-old heritage trees, including mature eucalyptus and palm trees preserved from the original site, add to the campus’ lush environment.

Also featured at the community, an 8,300-square-foot, two-story clubhouse that houses a resident lounge and library, demonstration kitchen, billiard/game room and multi-media screening room with 4K ultra-high definition projector.

The central recreation area offers a fitness center and yoga studio, as well as an event lawn with festival lighting and raised-bed organic gardens. Each residential building features its own courtyard with barbecues, outdoor seating and dining, event lawn and gardens.

Apartment homes offer 11 floor plans, where residents may choose from traditional kitchen or island kitchen great room plans. Contemporary finishes include ENERGY STAR stainless steel appliances, in-home washer and dryer, granite countertops, wood plank vinyl flooring and carpeting, along with energy-efficient heating and air conditioning.

Legacy at Falcon Point Construction Completed in Katy, Texas

Legacy at Falcon Point, an 82-unit assisted living and memory care facility was recently completed by Cadence McShane Construction Company. The community is located on a seven-acre site in Katy ,Texas, within a mile of Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital.

The luxury development is two stories and more than 64,000 square feet with 60 assisted living residences and 22 memory care units. The design utilizes a main street and neighborhood concept with each wing serving as as separate “neighborhood” within the community.

Amenities include movie theater, spa, restaurant, fitness center and sports bar as well as technology features such as RFID door entry, identity lighting and camera systems for monitoring the community.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (11/20/14) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Construction: Planned

Carriage Hill Assisted Living to Break Ground Next Week

Carriage Hill Assisted Living will break ground on a new assisted living facility in Madbury, New Hampshire on March 26, the company said in a release.

The 24-bed facility will feature architectural features in the style of a New England barn, living rooms, a music room, antique furnishings and other “homey” touches.

The intent of the design is meant to invoke a more intimate setting for Carriage Hill to provide a high degree elf care and attention, said Sara Nadeau, Carriage Hill’s president and administrator, in a written statement.

“It’s one of the few assisted living facilities in New Hampshire designed to be an intimate place where people can enjoy their lives, entertain family and friends and form new friendships,” she said.

Carriage Hill is a family-owned, family-managed facility. Along with the ground breaking later this month, the company will introduce a new website, which will offer details such as floor plans, pricing, services, amenities and other details.

Hawthorn Retirement Group Proposes 150-Unit Project in Maine

Vancouver, Wash.-based Hawthorn Retirement Group wants to build a 150-unit senior living community in Portland, Maine, on a site where the local City Council last year had rejected a proposal for a 96-unit condo development, reports Portland Press Herald.

Hawthorn submitted its project proposal to Portland’s planning office last week and is currently seeking a zoning text amendment to allow congregate housing on the 18-acre property. A hearing date before the Planning Board has not yet been set.

Project plans would include a four-story building built on 10 acres, with the remaining eight acres maintained as open space. In total, the footprint of the facility would be 40,000-square-feet.

Floor plans would include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments that would rent for $1,995 to $4,100 per month—all-inclusive rates that would cover three daily meals served in a restaurant-style dining room, a live-in management team, weekly housekeeping and regular maintenance service.

The proposal from Hawthorn is one of several senior housing projects either proposed or under construction in Greater Portland, an area where growing demand is being fueled by Maine’s rapidly aging population.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maine has the highest median age in the nation at 43.9 years, and the second-highest proportion of people age 65 and older—17.7%. Only Florida is higher at 18.6%.

San Diego Affordable Housing to Convert into Assisted Living 

The Palms, originally known as the Bay View Hotel in San Diego, is now embarking on a future as an assisted living facility, reports local NBC-7 San Diego.

In recent years, the building has provided affordable apartments, but a shift in more seniors with memory issues and other special needs in the area is prompting the conversion into assisted living.

However, before that happens, the building needs at least “a million dollars” in repairs and basic upgrades to be brought “up to code,” according to developers.

A re-purposing plan is proposing to invest $15 million in a renovation project, one that is built to state historical standards, to convert the Palms into a 70-unit facility that will offer both assisted living and memory care.

National Church Residences Plans 190-Unit Community in Ohio

Ohio-based not-for-profit senior housing provider National Church Residences is planning a 190-unit community in Westerville, Ohio, reports Columbus Business First.

Under the proposed plans, the National Church Residences Central College community would include 96 independent living apartments, 50 assisted living units with about half of them devoted to memory care, and a 22-bed nursing home within a four-story, 155,000-square-foot complex. Another 22 independent living units would be located in  one-story cottages on the campus.

No budget has yet been set for the project, which is slated to for a conceptual review before the Westerville Planning Commission for 10 acres that the non-profit NCR would buy from Central College Presbyterian Church.

Construction: In process

Primrose Retirement Community Expanding with 20-Unit Villa

Aberdeen, S.D.-based Primrose Retirement Communities is adding town homes and a clubhouse to one of its communities in Pueblo, Colo., reports The Pueblo Chieftain.

Expansion plans call for building a complex of 20 town homes and a clubhouse adjacent to the existing community’s 40 independent living and 40 assisted living apartments.

While the estimated development costs were not disclosed, the Pueblo Regional Building Department lists the construction value at $2.82 million.

Construction is expected to finish by late 2015.

Four Seasons-Inspired Assisted Living Community to Open Later this Month in N.Y.

A new luxury assisted living and memory care community plans to redefine retirement living in the New York area when it opens later this month.

The Ambassador is a collaboration between developer Amba P. Sharma; the architectural firm of Perkins Eastman Architects of Stamford, Conn.; Jasper Design of Massachusetts; and Solutions-Advisors, a management consultant fem specializing in senior housing community development.

The community offers 115 residents in a variety of floor plans, from studios to two-bedroom apartments, with 95 apartments dedicated to assisted living and 20 for memory care.

Located in Scarsdale, N.Y., The Ambassador’s architectural exterios draws from the residential character of the surrounding Scarsdale area and employs elements of Tudor Revival architectural style.

It’s seven-acre wooded site offered designers and developers the opportunity to create an estate-like ambiance to capitalize on the site’s secluded setting and natural surroundings.

The community’s interiors, furnishings and color schemes were inspired by the Four Seasons Hotels, as the development team sought to create interior similar to a grand mansion.

The Ambassador features  a performing arts center, movie theater and children’s playroom, signature restaurant, fine arts studio, full-service beauty salon and spa, living room and lounge with fireplaces.

Sharma, who has been involved in senior housing communities since the 1980s, was a partner in the luxury senior living community, The Bristal at North Hills on Long Island.

HJ Sims Provides Financing for 212-Unit Florida Project

HJ Sims is financing a new senior living community in Kissimmee, Fla., a project that involves Life Care Services and 55-plus community developer AV Homes, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVHI).

Tuscan Isle will be comprised of 120 independent living units, 56 assisted living units and 36 memory care units at its location immediately adjacent to Solivita, a residential age 55-plus community with more than 7,000 residents.

The independent living units will be housed in a four-story building, made up of one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 706- to 1,230-square-feet. Meanwhile, the assisted living units will consist of studios and one/two bedroom units ranging in size from 390- to 620-square-feet.

Memory care units will provide housing for 36 residents in private rooms, while common areas will offer space for dining, activities and a wide range of amenities.

The Tuscan Isle project, which began in January, has a planned completion date for spring 2016. Phase two of construction will incorporate a skilled nursing expansion.

The community has a preliminary shared services agreement with AV Homes, which developed the master-planned Solivita community.

Construction financing consisted of $40,645,000 tax-exempt bonds and $1,710,000 taxable bonds, making the total debt financing $42,355,000. The preferred equity consisted of taxable bonds for accredited investors, totaling $6.2 million.

The owners of Tuscan Isle include affiliates of Vieste Group, a program management and development services company from Chicago; HJ Sims Investments; Life Care Services; and Core Construction Group, a Fla.-based construction company.

United Group Breaking Ground on $23 Million N.Y. Development

Troy, N.Y.-based developer United Group is constructing its latest senior housing project, a $23 million, 148-unit development in Bethlehem, N.Y., reports Albany Business Review.

The community, dubbed Glenmont Abbey Village, is designed for active, independent adults age 55 and older, and is just one of similar projects United Group has in its pipeline.

Financed by $4.5 million in private equity the company raised last year and a loan from Berkshire Bank, the project is slated for completion by this fall.

Rochester, N.Y.-based LeChase Construction is the builder of Glenmont Abbey Village.

Luxury Assisted Living and Memory Care Coming to St. Louis County

Construction is now underway on Dougherty Ferry Assisted Living and Memory Care, a new community that aims to offer luxury at an affordable price in St. Louis.

Slated to open in early 2016, Dougherty Ferry Assisted Living and Memory Care is a project of Spectrum Retirement Communities, a Denver-based company developer, owner and operator of senior living communities across the U.S.

St. Louis-based Vessel Architecture & Design designed the community, while Catamount Constructors is the general contractor for the project.

The 80,000-square-foot community is located on the northwest corner of Dougherty Ferry and Big Bend roads. It will feature 65 assisted living and 32 memory care residences ranging in size from studio apartments to two-bedroom units.

Residents will be able to take advantage of the community’s amenities, which include chef-prepared dining, Colors of Spectrum wellness programs and entertainment activities — or access attractions in the surrounding area.

“Seniors and their families are looking for communities that cater to an active lifestyle, with a flexible leasing program, high-class amenities at an affordable price, and convenient access to the neighborhood,” said Jeff Kraus, managing director of Spectrum, in a written statement.

Spectrum Retirement Communities owns and operates 26 senior  living communities in 11 states. Now in its 10th year of operations, the company oversees more than 3,200 apartments and employs more than 1,700 staff. Spectrum currently has seven communities under construction and will manage 3,600 senior apartment homes by 2015.

Dougherty Ferry is Spectrum’s fifth community in the St. Louis metro area and the sixth in the state.

Construction: Completed

Erickson Living Opens New Dining Venue at Colorado CCRC

This week, Erickson Living announced it has opened a new upscale dining venue at its Wind Crest continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Highlands Ranch, Colo.

The 80-seat, reservation-only Windows Restaurant serves a seasonal dinner menu with two daily chef specials. Guests dining at the new venue can take in views of the Denver skyline and Rocky Mountain Foothills. Inside, modern light fixtures hang from a vaulted two-story ceiling.

Windows adds to Wind Crest’s other dining options, Fireside Restaurant and the Fly’n B Cafe, a causal dining setting that offers short-order items such as salads, deli-style sandwiches and more.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (3/19/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Edgemere Cocktail Lounge – Photo Courtesy of Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation)

Construction: Planned

Dallas CCRC Plans $36 Million Expansion

Edgemere, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Dallas, will soon begin a large-scale expansion and renovation project to address the growing demand for senior living options in the area.

Financing for the project was completed through the sale of $36 million in series 2015 bonds, according to a release from Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC), which sponsors Edgemere.

The renovation project is designed to bridge the gap between the Italian elegance of Edgemere is known for and the modern luxuries that current and future retirees are looking for.

One of the highlights of the construction project will be the addition of a brand new 6,000-square-foot performing arts center will be built to provide a larger abundance of entertainment options. The nearly two-story building will be located in the community’s center courtyard and will house a bar and lounge, arched ceilings with exposed wooden beams and a stage for speakers and performers.

An extensive renovation is also planned for the community’s two dining that, when finished, will embrace the look and feel of restaurants in Italy.

The Medici Dining Room will serve steak, seafood and chops and will provide beer and wine tap services. Additionally, a new bar and lounge area with fireplace will be added for pre- and post-dinner cocktails.

Edgemere’s Portobella Cafe will be expanded and will continue to provide a more casual dining atmosphere and food options. It will also feature an exhibition kitchen design and diner-style seating and appearance.

The Plaza at Edgemere will also be undergoing an extensive expansion that will add eight new assisted living apartment homes, 12 new memory support suites and 15 new skilled nursing private suites.

Andres Construction will be the general contractor for the project, while AG Architecture will be the design firm. Other project partners include interior design firm Looney & Associates; design consultants Faulkner Design Group and Kimley-Horn. Ziegler Capital Markets served as bond underwriter for the bond transaction.

Construction is expected to begin August 2015, with a scheduled completion targeted for the first quarter of 2018.

Construction: In process

Spectrum Underway on Sitework for Chicagoland Community

Denver-based Spectrum Retirement Communities has announced construction plans for Green Oaks Senior Living, launching the transformation of the area surrounding the former Jamaica Gardens Nursery site in Libertyville, Ill.

Slated to open in late 2016, the community will offer seniors a wide range of living options, all featuring luxury amenities at an affordable price, including flexible month-to-month leasing options, Spectrum stated in a release.

The 200,000-square-foot community is located at 14595 W. Rockland Road. It will feature 110 independent living and 60 assisted living residences ranging in size from studio apartments to two-bedroom lakeside cottages.

Residents will be able to take advantage of the community’s “top-flight” amenities, Spectrum said, which include chef-prepared dining, the Colors of Spectrum wellness programs and entertainment activities—as well as exterior walking paths through the community’s gardens.

The community will also feature 24 memory care residences and Spetrum’s unique Residence Club, which allows residents with mild cognitive impairment to stay in an assisted living apartment and receive additional support from a dedicated Life Enrichment Specialist.

Senior Lifestyle Corp. to Break Ground on New Fla. Community

Chicago-based Senior Lifestyle Corporation will officially break ground  June 5 for The Sheridan at Cooper City, an 111-unit assisted living and memory care community in Cooper City, Fla.

The Sheridan at Cooper City will open in late 2016 and will feature 72 assisted living and 39 memory care apartments purposely built and programmed to support those with Alzheimer’s.

At the community, residents will have access to 20,000-square-feet of common space with dining rooms, living rooms, an internet cafe, an art studio, salon, fitness center and physical therapy spaces.

PruittHealth Announces New Skilled Nursing Center in Atlanta

PruittHealth announced this week its official expansion in Atlanta with a new skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.

PruittHealth – Virginia Park spans 3.6 acres in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland. The 40,302-square-foot building will allow PruittHealth to offer high-quality post-acute care services to 128 beds and 18 specialty vent bends.

The new skilled nursing center is located at 1000 Briarcliff Road in Atlanta.

Construction: Completed

Aptura-Designed Life Care Services Community to Open in Fla.

A newly constructed assisted living and memory care community designed in partnership with Direct Supply’s Aptura division and Life Care Services plans to open its doors next week in North Port, Fla.

The Springs at South Biscayne features interior design that blends Mediterranean influences with a residential feel meant to convey vitality and well-being, with color schemes that include use of warm woods, painted millwork and strong earth tones.

Dedicated exclusively to senior living, Aptura is a nationally recognized development services firm that offers a comprehensive suite of services to support projects from start to finish. The company is part of Direct Supply, a leading provider of equipment, eCommerce and service solutions to the senior living industry.

Integral Senior Living-Managed Community Breaks Ground in Fresno, Calif.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based Integral Senior Living (ISL) this week announced a new community it is managing has recently started construction in Fresno, Calif.

Kingston Bay Senior Living, a new assisted living and memory care community located in northwest Fresno anticipates opening in spring 2016.

The community represents a commitment to provide a warm and nurturing environment combined with the next generation of senior care technology for its residents, ISL stated in a release.

Sitting on four acres, the 86,467-square-foot community will have 107 residences, which will consist of 61 one-bedroom and 22 studio bedroom assisted living apartment homes, along with 24 memory care residences.

Quiring General, a senior care construction company headquartered in Fresno, is building the project.

Brookhaven Manor Celebrates Grand Re-Opening in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Brookhaven Manor, an age 55 and older luxury, independent living community, recently completed renovations to its campus is Ann Arbor, Mich., the community announced last week.

The 138-apartment home community has undergone a major remodeling to the dining room, library, salon, media room, great room and living room, while also adding several new amenities, including a café, outdoor patio and casual dining area, fitness center, and new tech enhancements such as computer stations with internet access, enhanced Wi-Fi and an expanded “quiet” library reading area.

A grand re-opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for Friday, June 5 at the Ann Arbor community located at 401 West Oakbrook Drive.

Brookhaven Manor is managed by Fourmidable of Bingham Farms, Mich., a national real estate management company specializing in senior and family apartment communities.

Renovations were designed by Fusco, Shaffer & Pappas, Inc., based in Ferndale, Mich. The construction manager was Taylor, Mich.-based J.S. Vig Construction Company. Interior finishes and furnishings were designed by InnerSpace Design of Ann Arbor.

National Homebuilder Debuts First 55+ Community in Austin

Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE: TMHC), a national homebuilder and developer based in Scottsdale, Ariz., last week announced the debut of its first age 55-plus community in Austin, Texas: Heritage at Vizcaya.

The community, built under TMHC’s “Taylor Morrison” brand, will debut six new models with three distinct series: the Landmark, Pinnacle and Summit, totaling 12 floor plans. Each series has its own unique style, with homes at Heritage at Vizcaya ranging from approximately 1,536- to 3,046-square-feet.

Pricing starts in the mid-$200,000s, Taylor Morrison stated in a release.

Each home at Heritage will feature an open layout, spacious master suite, gourmet kitchen and many upgrade options. Within each home, there will also be energy-efficient options, tech-ready wiring and floor plan configurations.

Heritage at Vizcaya is the second 55+ neighborhood to open from Taylor Morrison this year, joining the company’s Esplanade development in Orlando.

The company’s Skyestone Denver and Bonterra at Woodforest communities opened in 2014, and more 55+ communities are being slated for Taylor Morrison.

USA Properties Fund Holds Grand Opening for Affordable Senior Housing in Sacramento

California-based developer USA Properties Fund Inc. is holding a grand opening celebration June 4 for Arbor Creek Senior Apartments, an affordable senior living community in Sacramento, Calif.

As an affordable-designated community, Arbor Creek Senior Apartments is for seniors age 55 years or older who earn 60% or less of the area median income for Sacramento County. Rents range from $545 to $609 for the one-bedroom apartments, and $653 to $730 for the two-bedroom units.

For the project, USA Properties partnered with Riverside Charitable in the development of the 60-unit apartment community, which features 48 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units.

Amenities at the community include a 1,676-square-foot community center that includes a computer room, fitness center and kitchen for residents. Arbor Creek Senior Apartments also include environmentally-friendly features such as a storm-water management filtering system and water-efficient landscape and irrigation design.

The County of Sacramento, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and US Bank Community Lending are partners on the $14.1 million project.

The community is located at 8340 Elk Grove Florin Road in Sacramento, just outside the City of Elk Grove.

Discovery Village Senior Living Facility Opens in Naples, Fla.

The Henning Group has completed construction of the Discovery Village Senior Living Facility in Naples, Fla., a 120,000-square-foot community with 120 resident units.

The facility includes three-story assisted living and independent living winds, along with an attached self-contained one-story memory care unit.

A main floor common area includes the community’s “Legends” Club & Bar, a living area with a gas fireplace, the “Sensations” dining room with an exhibition kitchen, a private dining room and a full-service restaurant-style kitchen. Also featured is a therapy pool and wellness center, and Bailey’s Bistro and Ice Cream Parlor.

The second floor common areas boast numerous amenities as well, including a multi-purpose theater with a movie screen and cinema-style seating; a card room; library/media center; arts and crafts; and an activity director.

On the third floor of the facility lies the community salon and spa, where residents can get haircuts, manicures and massages.

Within its self-contained area, the memory care wing will enjoy its own amenities, including a country kitchen and dining room, activity areas, family and living rooms, beauty salon and spa.

Outside, multiple courtyards, gardens for planting, lawn game activities and trails offer residents additional opportunities for activity and socialization.

Discovery Village is in the final stages of obtaining operating licenses and residents are scheduled to begin moving in to their new units in June 2015.

Cincinnati Firm Launches LEED Senior Apartments Near Atlanta

Cincinnati-based firm Sol design + consulting announced this week that it has received LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Panola Gardens, a senior living community in Lithonia, Ga.

The 80-unit building, developed and operated by nonprofit provider National Church Residences, offers affordable homes to adults age 55 and older with moderate incomes.

As part of their sustainable, green building design, the apartment homes at Panola Gardens feature ENERGY STAR appliances, high-efficiency heating, cooling and lighting, Grade I high-performance insulation, water-efficient plumbing fixtures and landscaping design, low VOC finishes, Green Label Plus carpet and Forest Stewardship Council sustainably grown and harvested wood components.

Creating a high-performance living environment on a budget is a rewarding challenge, said Sanyog Rathod, AIA, LEED AP+ Homes, and CEO of Sol.

“The marginal investment in green building begins paying back immediately, through reduced energy and water bills, and a healthier indoor environment for residents,” Rathod said. “Panola Gardens is an excellent expression of this common sense approach to serving the market.”

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (6/4/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill – Photo courtesy of Masonic Villages)

Construction: Planned

Immanuel Lutheran Communities Plans Senior Housing Community for Montana

Not-for-profit organization Immanuel Lutheran Communities, in partnership with Mountain Plains Equity Group, have developed plans to build a new senior living apartment complex on 4.2 acres at 41 Meridian Court near downtown Kalispell in Montana.

Dubbed Timber Meadows, the two-story complex will consist of one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for qualified, independent seniors who are on a limited income.

Each apartment will include a balcony, storage and a private enclosed garage, while community amenities will include a fitness room, a library, a common area with a fireplace and kitchen and an outdoor seating area with fire pit.

Immanuel Lutheran is partnering with the Mountain Plains Equity Group to apply to the Montana Board of Housing for federal income tax credits to build the project.

The Board will announce tax-credit recipients in January, Immanuel Lutheran Communities stated in a release.

Construction: In process

ClearPath Senior Holdings Bringing $7.4 Million Project to Missouri

St. Louis-based ARCO Construction Co. Inc. this week announced it is building a new $7.4 million senior living community in Carthage, Missouri for ClearPath Senior Holdings, a developer of private-pay senior living communities also based in St. Louis.

The companies broke ground on the 37,000-square-foot community in June, but officially commemorated the start of construction at a groundbreaking on August 20.

Upon completion in May 2016, Oak Pointe of Carthage will have a total of 46 apartments, 33 units dedicated to assisted living and 13 dedicated to memory care. Floor plan mix includes studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Oak Pointe’s assisted living apartments will feature kitchenettes and ample closet space, individual climate control and will be pet-friendly.

The memory care wing will provide an individualized environment with social activities and programs designed to help keep residents with cognitive impairment engaged and active.

Other amenities include a wellness center with space for physician visits and therapy services, courtyard and garden areas, a crafts and hobby room, a full-service beauty and barber salon.

Partnering with ARCO on the construction of Oak Pointe is GMA Architects; Anderson Engineering, civil engineering; and KPFF, structural engineering.

The community will be managed an operated by St. Louis-based operator Provision Living.

Oak Pointe of Carthage will be located at 300 West Airport Road and is one of three senior living communities currently being built by ClearPath and ARCO in southwest Missouri, and the companies’ sixth in the state.

Last month, ClearPath and ARCO broke ground on a similar project in Neosho, Missouri, about 25 miles south of Carthage, and plans call for another groundbreaking in October in Monett, Missouri.

Construction: Completed

Thrive Senior Living, PinPoint Commercial Celebrate Grand Opening of Tampa Community

Atlanta-based Thrive Senior Living recently celebrated the grand opening for one of its newest communities, Legacy at Highwoods Preserve Assisted Living and Memory Care in Tampa, Fla.

The two-story community will provide “top-tier” services for 60 assisted living residents and 22 memory care residents, Thrive stated in a release on the community’s opening.

Managed by Thrive, Legacy at Highwoods Preserve was developed by PinPoint Commercial of Houston, Texas.

Action Pact Opens New ‘Household Model’ Community in Kansas City

An organization recognized for developing and promoting the Household Model of senior housing services, Action Pact is bringing this home-like approach to Kansas City, Kan. via The Piper.

The Piper is architecturally designed to be warm, welcoming and homey. Here, residents live in private apartments, each of which has its own kitchen, living area and bathroom.

The apartments open to a larger household similar in size and features of a family home for up to 20 members, including an open kitchen, dining room, living room, den and four-season room. This approach creates a “home within a home” experience, says Action Pact.

In all, there are six independent households, each embracing 20 private apartments.

The Piper was developed and built by Assisted Living Associates, a partnership between PAR Development, Clarkson Construction Company and Action Pact.

Sun Health Finishes Assisted Living Addition to Arizona Post-Acute Facility

Grandview Terrace Health and Rehabilitation by Sun Health has finished building an upscale 20-suite residence for up to 30 people who need assistance with activities of daily living.

The second floor of the two-story residence features one two-bedroom, 13 one-bedroom and six studio suites, each with a kitchenette, full bath and ample closet space. The one- and two-bedroom suites also feature a living room.

Also located on the second floor is a fireplace lounge, a business center, several gathering spaces, a community kitchen and a fitness area.

On the ground level is a Starbucks cafe, a gift shop, movie theater, chapel/library, spa and salon area, as well as a restaurant-style dining room and large multipurpose room. A physician-staffed health clinic is also housed on the first floor.

Grandview Terrace’s assisted living project is the last phase of a multi-million dollar, top-to-bottom renovation of the Grandview Terrace Health and Rehabilitation campus—previously known as Grandview Care Center.

A skiled nursing unit, a sub-acute rehab unit and an indoor therapy pool in the rehabilitation department were remodeled, and construction crews also built a 16-suite memory support residence, designed specifically for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

The design-build team for the project consisted of The Weitz Company (contractor); Orcutt-Winslow Partnership (architect); HilgartWilson (civil engineering); and Thoma-Holec Design (interior design).

Masonic Villages Completes $20 Million Expansion, Renovation Project

Pennsylvania-based Masonic Villages announced this week that it has completed a $20 million expansion and renovation project at the Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill, located 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia, which includes 60 new apartments.

The 96,000-square-foot addition and new apartments brings the total number of residences on the campus to 158. The community also offers 38 personal care residences and 60 nursing care suites.

The new building includes one- and two-bedroom apartment floor plans ranging in size from 800- to 1,120-square-feet. Connected to the original building, the addition provides indoor access to amenities and activities throughout the campus such as two restaurants, an in-house bowling alley, a woodshop and a wellness center.

Renovation included updated the building’s original facade for a more contemporary look and increasing the parking areas on campus. Sustainable practices were also incorporated into the building, including LED lighting, high-efficiency heat pumps and boilers/chillers, and low emissions carpet and paint.

Work was completed by Warfel Construction Co. and designed by RLPS Architects.

Bridges by EPOCH Now Open in Westwood, Mass.

A memory care assisted living community in Massachusetts, Bridges by EPOCH at Westwood welcomed its first residents on August 18, the company announced this week.

The community is a joint collaboration between EPOCH Senior Living and National Development, a real estate and investment firm with senior housing expertise.

Located at 140 University Ave. in Westwood, and adjacent to University Station, the new two-story community includes 64 suites with four different floor plans and is designed exclusively for residents with memory impairment.

Soothing lighting, decor and colors, tall ceilings, wide spaces and plenty of windows for natural light, as well as an enclosed courtyard are just some of the features at Bridges by EPOCH at Westwood. The community also features a partially covered, furnished, open-air deck on the second story for use and enjoyment by residents.

The architect for the Westwood community is CBT of Boston and the interior design was developed by architectural firm JSA Inc. of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Cranshaw Construction of Newton, Mass., was the general contractor.

Erickson Living Debuts New Residential Building at Ashby Ponds CCRC

Magnolia Place, a new independent living building at Ashby Ponds, an Erickson Living CCRC, officially opened and is now home to the community’s newest residents.

Magnolia Place is a four-floor, 161,000-square-foot building that includes 83 independent living apartment homes featuring 13 of Ashby Ponds’ most popular one- and two-bedroom floor plans.

New residents will enjoy covered, underground parking, a large courtyard, pond and tree-lined views. Within the apartment homes, amenities include stainless steel kitchen appliances, granite countertops, open floor plans, upgraded lighting and flooring options, as well as fully-sized, side-by-side, washers and dryers. Many of the apartment homes also feature an outdoor living space with a screened-in porch or a patio.

As of this posting, over 90% of the apartment homes at Magnolia Place are currently reserved and will be home to new residents by the end of summer, said Holly Henderson, director of sales at Ashby Ponds, in a written statement.

Affordable Senior Housing Community in Ohio Earns LEED Gold

Chimes Terrace Apartments, a newly renovated property in the village of Johnstown, Ohio, has received a LEED Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Chimes Terrace offers 36 one-bedroom independent living apartments and 24 units of assisted living in a location conveniently located near supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, restaurants, retail, services, houses of worship and in close proximity to transit stops and a park.

Features contributing to the LEED Gold certification include ENERGY STAR refrigerators and bath exhaust fans; CFL and LED lighting; 100% drought-tolerant landscaping; low water use plumbing fixtures; reuse of the existing building foundation, wall and roof framing; and allergen-reducing MERV 8 air filters and Green Label Plus carpet that contribute to healthy indoor air quality.

Cincinnati-based Sol design + consulting provided energy consulting and green building certification services for the 60-unit project, which was developed and is operated by National Church Residences, designed by Berardi + Partners and built by Ruscilli Construction.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (8/20/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Rendering of Westminster of Dallas — Photo courtesy of Riverwood Retirement Management Inc.)

Editor’s note: Senior Housing News will be observing the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 7, but will return to our normal posting schedule Tuesday, September 8. In the meantime, everyone here at SHN would like to wish all of our readers a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

Construction: Planned 

Riverwood Retirement Management Picked for New ‘Westminster’ Community

Orange City, Fla.-based management and consulting firm for retirement and senior living communities Riverwood Retirement Management Inc. has been chosen to manage Westminster of Dallas in Georgia.

This will be the third Westminster branded community in the Southeast, but the first in Georgia. The 43,600-square-foot memory care community will serve nearly 50 residents.

The construction and design of the community is being taken into consideration to create optimal conditions for those living with memory impairment—from the skylights that will provide natural light in the 19-foot grand foyer and dining and activity rooms, to the residents bathrooms that will be floor-lit at night for safety.

Handrails will also be placed throughout the one-story community to promote mobility and independent, along with special slip-resistant flooring that eliminates glare and minimizes the risk for potential falls.

Two separate, secure walking trails aim to encourage residents to enjoy the outdoors and stay physically active among vegetable gardens, butterfly bushes and hummingbird feeders.

CDH Partners will design the community with Beacon Construction Company.

The project’s design will have an “old world” architectural style with a wood frame building and Dutch hip roof lines, among other distinctive features meant to create a timeless scheme, Riverwood stated in a press release.

Also featured on campus will be common areas, a formal dining room and a commercial kitchen, as well as activity rooms on each wing, a beauty/barber shop, private chapel, laundry room and library with a computer station. The dining rooms will feature aquariums and bird sanctuaries.

Construction and the groundbreaking process will begin within the next two months, and the community is scheduled to be completed and open in late 2016.

Montana CCRC Plans Five-Year $45 Million Expansion, Redevelopment

In response to a growing need for senior living options, Immanuel Lutheran Communities announced this week a campus redevelopment project at its existing Buffalo Hill Terrace continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Kalispell, Mont.

The redevelopment will include 36 new independent living residences at The Villas at Buffalo Hill, along with an auditorium/chapel, pool, fitness center, salon/spa, under building parking, a dining room, as well as a coffee bar and lounge.

The project will include the addition of 24 assisted living apartment residences for individuals with memory loss, a memory care garden and updates to the existing skilled nursing portion of the community.

Redevelopment plans will also expand the Retreat at Buffalo Hill to include new residences for short-stay therapy services and a new 2,000-square-foot rehabilitation and therapy center.

Immanuel Lutheran Communities estimates the total cost for the entire campus expansion and renovation will be $45 million. The project, which will be rolled out in phases over a five-year period, begins spring 2016.

The nonprofit senior living provider has named CJMW Architecture of Winston-Salem, N.C., and MMW Architects of Missoula as architectural partners on the project.

Additional partners include local contractor Swank Enterprises; Sawgrass Partners, a senior living developer and advisor based in Illinois; local engineering company Morrison Maierle; Nashville-based interior design firm Studio 121; and Corsi Associates, a foodservice consulting firm based in Pa.

The redevelopment project arrives on the heels of an announcement in August that Immanuel Lutheran Communities plans to develop Timber Meadows, a new apartment community for seniors near downtown Kalispell.

Seniority, Zenith Capital to Build $23.5 Million Assisted Living Community

Seniority Inc. and Seattle-based Zenith Capital announced Thursday their plans to built a new $23.5 million, 98-unit assisted living and memory care community in Covington, Wash.

Covington Assisted Living and Memory Care Community will be located at 17006 SE Wax Road in Covington. It’s 98 units will include 64 for assisted living and 34 for memory care.

Construction will begin on the three-acre development parcel in the second quarter of 2016, with an anticipated opening slated for summer 2017.

When completed, Seniority, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABHOW, will operate the facility.

A portion of the project’s overall financing will come from the U.S. Government’s EB-5 immigrant investor program. There will also be additional equity partners investing into the project as well.

Quality Senior Living to Build New ‘Blake’ Community in La.

Quality Senior Living, along with Blake Management Group, plan to build a new “Blake” community in Bossier City, La., the companies announced late last week.

The Blake at Bossier City will offer independent living, assisted living and memory care, and will be located near Airline Drive, which the companies note is convenient to people who live in both Bossier City and Shreveport.

Independent living floor plan option will include two-bedroom residences with full kitchens, while options for assisted living residences include studio to two-bedroom, two-bath apartments with walk-in closets, full kitchens and a balcony or porch. Memory care options include studio and one-bedroom residences with walk-in closets.

Pricing will be based on serve needs and apartment selection. While there is no “buy-in” fee, Quality Senior Living noted that assisted living monthly rates start as low as $2,500.

As for amenities, The Blake at Bossier City will provide elegant dining options, concierge service, 24-hour nurse staffing and an active social program.

Other amenities include fine dining, casual dining, a full-service bar and lounge, full-serve coffee shop and ice cream parlor, salon services, outpatient physical therapy, a sunlit chapel, custom putting greens and outdoor activity courts, a full-feature theater room, activity rooms, landscaped courtyards with an outdoor fire pavilion, fountains and raised gardens, a business center, library, internet cafe, indoor/outdoor dining, fitness center, massage and spa services, transportation and on-site parking.

Dallas-based Arrive Architecture Group is providing architectural design for the development.

Civitas Senior Living Plans Texas Memory Care Project

Fort Worth, Texas-based Civitas Senior Living recently announced plans for a new memory care community in Frisco, Texas.

Opening December 2015, La Fontaine will be the fourteenth development property in the Civitas’ portfolio.

The community is located near the Centennial Medical Center and across from La Fontaine’s sister community, Stonemere Rehabilitation Center.

La Fontaine will provide 28 memory care units, and will feature amenities that include a beauty salon, two courtyards with fountains and plant-able gardens, walking trails and radiant heated flooring in all bathrooms.

The construction company for the project is Rosco Construction.

Concordis Senior Living Moves Forward with Planned 120-Unit Community

Ocala, Fla.-based Concordis Senior Living plans to break ground on a 120-unit senior living community in La., reports Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.

Concordis recently received final approval from the Metro Council to develop the two-story community on a vacant 4.5-acre land tract on Siegen, south of Perkins Road intersection.

Plans call for one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as studios. Unit mix consists of 76 units for assisted living and 44 apartments contained in two neighborhoods for memory care residents.

When complete, Concordis will manage the facility, which is one of four communities it plans to build over the next year in Louisiana, Texas and Florida.

Construction: In process

Walsh Construction Breaks Ground with Senior Lifestyle Corp. 

Chicago-based Senior Lifestyle Corp. and Walsh Construction are breaking ground this month on The Sheridan of Green Oaks, a new senior living community located in Libertyville, Ill.

Developed on a 33-acre site with design partner SAS, The Sheridan of Green Oaks consists of 212,326-square-feet of living space, broken out into 198 total units of independent living, assisted living and memory care units.

Broken down by housing type, the campus includes 78 independent living units, 64 units of assisted living and 56 memory care units.

Amenities include a fitness center, art studio, internet cafe, library, multi-purpose room, card room, bar/lounge, dining, a beauty salon, wellness center, physical therapy room, private dining area, living rooms and two fully landscaped exterior courtyards.

The Sheridan of Green Oaks marks the tenth project where Walsh has teamed with Senior Lifestyle as the company’s construction partner over the past 15 years.

Silverado Dedicating Site for New Memory Care Community

Next week, Silverado will hold a site dedication ceremony to celebrate the construction of a new memory care community in Bellingham, Wash.

Silverado Bellingham will be a 41,000-square-foot, single-story community that will serve up to 80 people living with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other memory-impairing conditions.

Over the next year, Silverado said in a release that it will spend more than $10 million locally toward the development of the new community, which is expected to open in late 2016.

The multimillion-dollar community is being constructed on four acres and will include state-of-the-art design elements throughout the living space, including skylights and sunrooms to draw in natural light and warmth, and living areas that will provide residents with comfortable spaces for social interaction.

Also incorporated into the design are a coffeehouse style bistro, beauty salon, country store and spa. Additionally, a large outdoor courtyard, with its covered patios and walkways, aim to encourage residents to move freely among the gardens.

Silverado is working with local teams, including architect James Brown with Wattenbarger Architects; local civic engineer Craig Parkingson with Cascade Engineering; and Dawson Construction Inc. as a project consultant.

Construction: Completed

National Church Residences Earns LEED Certification for St. Louis Senior Apartments

National Church Residences Telegraph Road, a senior living apartment community in St. Louis, recently obtained LEED Platinum rating, the highest level of certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The three-story building has 45 one-bedroom apartments serving income-qualified older adults on a site located within walking distance of community resources for shopping, banking, health care and transit stops—a significant benefit from a green building perspective.

But it is the communities implementation of energy-efficient design and appliances that heavily factored into the certification for LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design.

Features like HVAC systems include high-efficiency heat pumps and ENERGY STAR rated heat recovery ventilators, refrigerators, dishwashers and lighting packages.

Other green building features contributing to the development’s LEED Platinum rating includes 96% of the lot being designed for storm water infiltration; drought tolerant landscaping that provides a 31% reduction in irrigation demand; WaterSense plumbing fixtures to minimize water consumption; no VOC paint; low VOC adhesives and sealants; Green Label Plus carpet; and formaldehyde-free composite wood designed to ensure healthy indoor air quality.

Cincinnati-based Sol design + consulting provided energy consulting and green building certification services for the National Church Services Telegraph Road community. Design was provided by St. Louis Design Alliance.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (9/3/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Chartwell Acquires Five Premier Ontario Residences for C$254 Million

Chartwell Retirement Residences, Canada’s largest owner and operator of seniors housing, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire five premier retirement residences in Ontario, Canada, for an aggregate purchase price of C$254 million from five distinct groups of vendors.

The properties include Hollandview Trail Retirement Community in Aurora; The Rockcliffe Retirement Residence in Ottawa; St. Clair Beach Retirement Community in Tecumseh; Oak Ridges Retirement Community in Richmond Hill; and Clair Hills Retirement Community in Waterloo.

“This transaction is fully in line with our strategy to expand our portfolio with new, high-quality properties, located in strong and growing markets,” said Vlad Volodarski, Chartwell’s chief financial officer and chief investment officer. “Including this transaction, in 2015 we have invested C$586.9 million in accretive acquisitions in Canada and have announced, together with our partners, over C$300 million in development projects. While we have substantially completed reinvestment of the net proceeds from the recent sale of our U.S. portfolio, we maintain ample balance sheet capacity and continue our work on sourcing and evaluating other acquisition and development opportunities.”

Chartwell is an unincorporated, open-ended trust that indirectly owns and operates a full range of seniors housing communities, from independent supported living through assisted living to long-term care. More than 25,000 seniors live in Chartwell communities, and the company has over 13,500 employees in its more than 180 retirement and long-term care residences.

Hollandview Trail Retirement Community is a 125-suite residence located in Aurora that includes a dedicated 37-suite assisted living unit. The building, which opened in 2009, is currently 98% occupied.

The 127-suite Rockcliffe Retirement Residence, which opened in 2008, includes a dedicated 17-suite assisted living unit. The residence is presently 100% occupied. 

St. Clair Beach Retirement Community is a 115-suite independent supportive living residence located on the shores of Lake St. Clair in Tecumseh. The building opened in 2013 and is presently 98% occupied.

Oak Ridges Retirement Community is a 129-suite residence located in Richmond Hill that features a dedicated 19-suite assisted living unit. The building, which opened in 2012, is currently 76% occupied.

Clair Hills Retirement Community is a 120-suite residence located in Waterloo. The property has a dedicated 20-suite assisted living unit. The building opened in 2012 and is currently 74% occupied.

Oak Ridges and Clair Hills will initially be owned by two limited partnerships in which vendors’ affiliates will retain interests. Signature Retirement Living Corp., an affiliate of the vendors, is set to continue to manage these properties until Dec. 31, 2018, under management contracts with Chartwell. The vendors provided Chartwell with a yearly Net Operating Income guarantee during the Initial Term. Upon expiration of the Initial Term, Chartwell is set to acquire the vendors’ interests in the limited partnerships and assume management of these properties. The purchase price for the vendors’ interests in the partnerships will be based on the actual results achieved by these properties during the last year of the Initial Term.

Chartwell expects to use its available cash and its credit facility to finance the cash portion of the aggregate purchase price and closing costs, which are estimated at C$5.7 million. The closing of the transaction, subject to normal closing conditions, is anticipated to occur this November.

The Ensign Group Purchases Skilled Nursing Facilities in California, South Carolina, Arizona 

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, assisted living, hospice care, home health care and urgent care companies, announced that its subsidiary has acquired the underlying real estate of Somerset Subacute and Rehabilitation, a skilled nursing facility with 46 beds in El Cajon, California. A subsidiary of Ensign has been operating the facility since December 2014 as part of a long-term lease.

The acquisition became effective on November 1, 2015.

In different transactions on the same day, Ensign announced that it acquired two skilled nursing facilities in Arizona and the operations and real estate of a skilled nursing facility in West Columbia, South Carolina — its first operation on the East Coast. Both transactions also went into effect on Nov. 1, 2015.

Specifically, The Ensign Group announced that its subsidiaries acquired the real estate and operations of Millennium Post Acute Rehabilitation, a skilled nursing facility with 125 beds in West Columbia, South Carolina.

Ensign’s subsidiaries also acquired Shea Post Acute Rehabilitation Center, a 105-bed skilled nursing facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Chandler Post Acute and Rehabilitation, a 120-bed skilled nursing facility in Chandler, Arizona.

The prices of the acquisitions were not disclosed.

These acquisitions bring Ensign’s growing portfolio to 182 skilled nursing and assisted living operations, 29 of which are owned. Ensign’s portfolio also includes 15 home health agencies, 14 hospice agencies, three home care businesses and 17 urgent care clinics across 14 states.

Christopher Christensen, Ensign’s president and CEO, said Ensign continues to see a very healthy pipeline for growth opportunities in new markets and within its existing footprint. Christensen also indicated that the organization is actively seeking several additional transactions to acquire real estate and to lease both struggling and well-performing skilled nursing, assisted living and other healthcare-related businesses.

NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. and NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. Announce Completion of Spin-Off of European REIT

NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF) and NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NYSE: NRE) jointly announced the successful completion of the spin-off of NorthStar Realty’s European real estate business, NRE.

NorthStar Realty, a diversified commercial real estate company that is organized as a REIT and is managed by an affiliate of NorthStar Asset Management Group, also announced the effectiveness of its previously announced one-for-two reverse stock split.  

Starting with the opening of trading on Nov. 2, NorthStar Realty’s common stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange on a split-adjusted basis under the ticker symbol “NRF,” and it will have a new CUSIP number: 66704R 803.

On Nov. 2, NRE will also start regular trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “NRE”.  

Additionally, NRE will be added to the MSCI U.S. REIT Index (RMZ), effective once the market closes on Nov. 2.

“NRE currently has a portfolio of high-quality predominately office properties located across top European markets, including London, Paris and Frankfurt and we believe it is well-positioned for continued strong growth with the pipeline of opportunities we are seeing across Europe,” said David T. Hamamoto, chairman. “We remain focused on seeking additional opportunities to further unlock value for our stockholders.”

National Church Residences Completes Sale of Ocean View Senior Apartments to BRIDGE Housing

The largest nonprofit provider of affordable senior housing in the United States, National Church Residences, has completed the sale of Ocean View Senior Apartments to BRIDGE Housing, a California-based nonprofit developer, owner and manager of affordable housing. 

The price of the transaction was not disclosed.

National Church Residences acquired the 100-unit Ocean View Senior Apartments in 2000 at the request of the city of Pacifica, California, with the intention of sustaining the property’s affordability.

Recently, National Church Residences had been pursuing a refinancing of Ocean View to address capital needs and repay two maturing loans. 

“We determined it was in the best interest of the Ocean View community to engage a mission-minded partner like ourselves with the local presence needed to execute new financing terms and oversee the rehabilitation,” said Steve Bodkin, chief operating officer, housing, National Church Residences.

The organization reached out to BRIDGE Housing, which creates, owns and manages a variety of high-quality, affordable homes for seniors and working families.

BRIDGE is set to begin renovations next month with new financing in place, including tax-exempt bonds, additional funding through California Housing Finance Agency, restructuring of existing debt with the San Mateo County and the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART), and the addition of low-income housing tax-credit equity.

The renovations are expected to replace aging building elements and systems with higher-performing and more efficient alternatives, enhance and restore the physical condition of the building, and ultimately enhance residents’ quality of life. 

The recapitalization also provides funding to enhance on-site services. Residents will have access to programs such as nutrition and wellness classes and referral services, for free. 

Additionally, all current residents will be able to stay in their units for the long term, and new deed restrictions have been placed on the property to guarantee rent restrictions will continue for 55 years.

Ocean View is affordable to seniors whose annual incomes range from about $14,928 to $84,500 (minimum income standard to 80% of Area Median Income, depending on household size), however 31 apartments will have additional subsidy provided by the Housing Authority of the County of San Mateo to serve individuals with lower incomes.

National Church Residences, headquartered in Upper Arlington, Ohio, has 340 communities in 28 states and Puerto Rico.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

The post Senior Housing Investments & Transactions: Chartwell, Ensign appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Would you convert senior housing units into assisted living, if doing so would lead to refinancing problems down the line?

In the past, some providers faced this choice. But that has changed, thanks to new rules under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program.

The Assisted Living Conversion Program (ALCP) provides grants to nonprofit owners to convert a portion of their units into an assisted living facility. Previously, properties that received ALCP grants were blocked from using FHA mortgage insurance through HUD’s Sec. 223(f) and Sec. 221(d)(4) programs.

Now, lenders can tap these HUD programs to refinance or rehabilitate properties that have undergone a conversion through ALCP, so long as less than 75% of its units and residents receive assisted living services. They no longer have to fear that if they utilize ALCP to expand assisted living, future renovations or refinancings on the property will have to financed through non-HUD channels.

“A number of attempts over the years to refinance or recapitalize have been very complicated,” Ryan Miles, a senior vice president of specialty investment bank Lancaster Pollard, tells Senior Housing News. “From a lender’s side, it opens up a good deal of pent-up demand for work that needs to happen on these projects. It’s going to allow us to make the whole building accommodate all residents’ needs, rather than just a small portion.”

The barriers proved difficult to overcome, Miles says, requiring owners to split their HUD debt into two different ownership structures and pay significant legal fees to do so. Even then, very few refinances or recapitalizations were actually achieved.

“Those that [Lancaster Pollard] has talked to in the past were told there was nothing we could do for them,” Miles tells SHN.

Expanding the Program

Since 2000, HUD has provided 125 ALCP grants to more than 80 seniors housing properties, disqualifying them all for FHA insurance programs. The new guidelines, though, give nonprofit operators the ability to stay within HUD’s programs rather than seek out capital elsewhere, Miles says.

National Church Residences, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing for seniors ranked No. 30 on the 2015 LeadingAge Ziegler 150, received its first ALCP grants in 2008. These were to convert 34 units into assisted living at Hopeton Village in Chillicothe, Ohio and 32 units at Portage Trial Village in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. National Church Residences went on to apply for and receive two more ALCP grants in 2009 to incorporate more assisted living at each of the Ohio properties.

In total, National Church Residences received eight awards for six properties. However, ALCP limitations steered the provider away from the program in its recent projects—a scenario that could have been different had the new changes been implemented sooner.

“Our last two projects, we didn’t go through ALCP because of refinancing problems we had in the past,” Eric Walker, director of affordable housing development with National Church Residences, tells SHN. “Looking back now, we might have done things a little differently.”

By opening ALCP grantees to further HUD options, Miles says such discouragement can be avoided.

“The guidance finally provides proactive owners who have utilized ALCP grants access to the many benefits of HUD financing and ensures that the future capital needs of the entire building can be met,” Miles wrote in October.

Written by Kourtney Liepelt

The post Financing Without Fear: Program Expands Senior Housing Lending Options appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Capital One Named Top Lead Arranger for Health Care Leveraged Loans Up to $1 Billion

Capital One has been named the No. 1 lead arranger for health care leveraged loans up to $1 billion in size, according to Thomson Reuters.

The acquisition of GE Capital’s Healthcare Financial Services lending business, which held the top spot for the past three years, propelled the newly combined Capital One Healthcare organization to lead the industry with more than $11 billion in total outstanding balances, according to a news release. Capital One Healthcare finances acquisitions, recapitalizations, working capital needs and funding early-stage commercialization efforts across 45 health care sub-sectors, including long-term care.

“2015 was truly a landmark year as we united two exceptional teams,” Capital One Healthcare President Darren Alcus said in a prepared statement. “We’re excited about the opportunities this will create as we bring together a best-in-class group of domain experts and continue to deliver critical financial solutions for our clients.”

National Equity Fund Partners with National Church Residences for $50 Million Affordable Housing Investment Fund

National Equity Fund (NEF), a syndicator of low income housing tax credits, has partnered with not-for-profit affordable senior living provider National Church Residences to establish a $50 million investment fund for affordable housing for seniors.

NEF has provided $45 million and National Church Residences contributed $5 million to the fund, which is meant to be used to acquire existing affordable senior housing communities for renovation and preservation. The first investment using the fund was completed on Dec. 31, with $3.68 million deployed to purchase Big Bethel Village in Atlanta.

“The resources needed to create new affordable senior housing continue to shrink…Preserving the affordable senior housing communities that already exist is so important,” National Church Residences President Michelle Norris said in a news release.

The money is expected to be used over the next three years. In addition to Big Bethel Village, acquisition plans include Antioch Tower in Cleveland, Ohio and Clinton Place in Mt. Clemens, Michigan during the first quarter of 2016.

Lancaster Pollard Closes $4.5 Million Refinance for Community in Washington, Arranges $43.6 Million Construction Loan for Ohio CCRC

Lancaster Pollard recently closed on a $4.5 million refinance for Evergreen Estates Retirement & Assisted Living Community in Clarkston, Washington through the FHA Se. 232/2223(f) program. The financial services firm that helps health care senior living and housing providers with financial advice and solutions also arranged for $43.6 million in Series 2015A and Series 2015B Bonds for Methodist ElderCare to construct a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in New Albany, Ohio.

The $4.5 million loan will help Evergreen Estates refinance its existing debt and fund its replacement reserve account. The new FHA-insured structure involves a lower interest rate than Evergreen’s former bank loan, a 30-year term and positions the facility for future expansion, according to a news release.

The $43.6 million in bonds were privately placed with two regional banks to fund the construction of Wesley Woods, which will offer detached villa-style cottages. The capital will also allow for the addition of a wellness center at Wesley Ridge, another Methodist Eldercare facility that offers assisted living and independent living. Finally, the debt structure will refinance the provider’s existing Series 2005, 2010 and 2011 tax-exempt bonds.

CBRE Facilitates $20.1 Million Acquisition Financing for Assisted Living Community near Seattle

CBRE National Senior Housing has arranged a $22.1 million loan for owner and developer Capitol Seniors Housing to acquire and renovate Harbour Pointe Retirement and Assisted Living Community, a 107-unit independent and assisted living community in the Seattle suburb of Mukilteo.

Capitol plans to use $1 million of the loan to convert 31 assisted living units into a memory care wing, among other planned improvements. The non-recourse, floating-rate loan includes a five-year term with 36 months of interest-only payments. Capital is provided by a national bank.

Capitol will lease the property to Milestone Retirement Communities, a Vancouver, Washington-based operator of 30 communities in 10 states.

Love Funding Secures $9.1 Million for Refinancing of Affordable Senior Housing in Brooklyn, New York, Closes $10 Million Loan for New Community in West Palm Beach, Florida

Love Funding, a provider of FHA multi-family, affordable and health care financing, has secured a $9.1 million loan for the refinancing of JASA’s Scheuer House of Coney Island, an affordable senior housing property located in Brooklyn, New York. The company also announced the closing of a $10 million loan blending tax credits and FHA financing for the construction and financing of a new seniors-focused apartment community in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The loan for JASA was secured through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 223(f) program, enabling JASA to preserve rent-subsidized units at the property, fund more than $4.8 million in repairs and reserves, provide additional equity to use for future projects and move to 35-year non-recourse debt at a fixed interest rate.

Schemer House of Coney Island offers 197 age-restricted studio and one-bedroom apartments. Planned improvements and repairs on the building include elevator upgrades, new kitchens and bathroom refurbishments, renovations of common areas and flood prevention measures. The additional equity will allow JASA to look into further opportunities to build more affordable housing and senior communities in the area.

The $10 million loan was arranged for the West Palm Beach Housing Authority fund the construction of Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior Complex, with plans to offer 99 units for people age 62 or older. Construction is part of the larger redevelopment of a 17-acre public housing project formerly known as Dunbar Village, and the new senior living complex will consist of two three-story residential buildings and a separate clubhouse.

The project will be funded through a combination of 4% low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, a Florida State Apartment Incentive Loan with an Extremely Low Income bonus, along with the FHA-insured mortgage. The FHA portion was secured through HUD’s 221(d)(4) loan insurance program, which provides non-recourse, fixed-rate financing for a term of up to 40 years for the construction and permanent financing of new apartments or the substantial rehabilitation of existing apartments.

Written by Kourtney Liepelt

The post Senior Housing Finance Activity: Capital One Named Top Lead Arranger appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Rendering of a new Allegro Senior Living community under construction in Orlando, Fla. — photo courtesy of Allegro Senior Living, LLC)

Construction: Planned

National Church Residences to Break Ground Next Week for $35 Million Ohio Project

National Church Residences, a not-for-profit senior housing provider, plans to break ground May 9 for Inniswood Village, a new senior living community located at 975 South Sunbury Rd. in Westerville, Ohio.

The 13-acre construction site is nestled in a setting adjacent to Inniswood Metro Gardens and next to the Central College Presbyterian Church property.

When complete, the 192-apartment campus will include independent living terrace apartments, senior apartments, assisted living and memory care apartments.

The community will feature a Town Center with a chapel, library, bistro, movie theater, club room and other activity spaces. Residents may also enjoy a variety of wellness programs, social activities and restaurant-style dining.

For the project, National Church Residences has enlisted the services and expertise of Roseville, Minn.-based Senior Housing Partners to develop Inniswood Village.

St. Paul, Minn.-based Pope Architects designed Inniswood Village and Ruscilli Construction, based in Columbus, Ohio, is the general contractor.

With 340 communities in 28 states and Puerto Rico, National Church Residences is among the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of affordable senior housing.

National Church Residences expects the $35 million Inniswood Village community will open in the fall of 2017.

Construction: In process

Allegro Senior Living Breaks Ground on Orlando Community

St. Louis-based Allegro Senior Living LLC recently hosted an official groundbreaking ceremony for its tenth community located in the Casselberry/Winter Park area of Orlando, Fla.

The luxury rental community sits on a 17.3-acre site at the intersection of 436 and Howell Branch Road.

Project plans call for 158 units within a 175,000-square-foot structure, offering independent living, assisted living and memory care.

The property will boast luxury accommodations such as a full service salon and spa, stadium theater, fitness center, concierge service, housekeeping service and 24-hour staffing with an active social program.

Accommodations also comprise multiple restaurant-style dining venues, including a bistro and patio dining with a gas fire pit providing views of Lake Ann.

Architectural design is being provided by Besselo Design Group, and construction services are provided by Welbro Building Corporation of Maitland, Fla.

Allegro expects first occupancy for the new community in summer 2017.

When fully occupied, Allegro anticipates creating 120 full- and part-time jobs in addition to 225 construction jobs.

Civitas Senior Living Announces Plans for Texas Assisted Living Project

Fort Worth, Texas-based Civitas Senior Living recently broke round on Long Creek Assisted Living and Memory Care, a new assisted living and memory care community in Sunnyvale, Texas.

This development will be the 27th property in the company’s expanding portfolio.

With 50 assisted living units and 25 memory care apartments, Long Creek will also features amenities that include a craft room, wellness/fitness center, walking trail, among other offerings.

Unique to the Long Creek community will be the Passion Program, a signature program developed by Civitas and found only within the company’s communities.

The Program is designed to help all residents celebrate aging and engage in the hobbies and social activities that are of particular interest to them.

The architect for the project is Pi Architects and the construction company is Trepex Construction Inc.

Civitas will be the management company for Long Creek.

Congress Companies Selected for $39 Million New York SNF 

White Plains Healthcare Properties I, LLC and EPIC Healthcare have selected Congress Building Corp. as the construction manager and developer for its 110,000-square-foot rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility in White Plains, N.Y.

Th $39 million facility consists of 160 beds of skilled nursing, including 76 specialized rehabilitation beds, 42 Alzheimer’s secure beds and 42 long-term care beds—each located within specially designed nursing units.

For this project, Congress will lead and coordinate the subcontractor and supplier pricing and procurement process.

During the construction phase, which is slated to begin in early summer 2016, Congress will manage construction activities, cost control, quality control, as well as safety programs and procedures.

Headquartered in Peabody, Mass., Congress Building Corp. has completed over 8,000 beds and 4.5 million square feet of health care and long-term care construction throughout the eastern U.S. over the past 45 years.

Recent projects for the company include a 74-unit, 84,000-square-foot assisted living facility in Easton, Mass.; an 80-bed, 68,000-square-foot assisted living and memory care facility in South Windsor, Conn.; and an 83-bed, 76,000-square-foot assisted living facility in Ipswich, Mass.

Cathedral Square Begins Construction of Vt. Senior Housing Project

Non-profit senior housing developer and operator Cathedral Square this week broke ground on an affordable housing community for seniors in Milton, Vt.

Elm Place is located at 60 Bombardier Road in Milton and will be Vermont’s first multi-family building certified to Passive House standards, with energy-efficient features that will allow the property to use roughly 65% less energy than those built to today’s standard codes, according to Cathedral Square.

Expected to open in March 2017, Elm Place will provide 30 affordable one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors.

Amenities will include covered parking, laundry facilities, on-site storage space, an exercise room, and more.

Support And Services at Home (SASH) will be offered to residents at no cost. SASH is a care coordination program which gives residents access to the care they need to stay healthy while living comfortably and safely at home.

Elm Place development costs were funded by various sources, including Vermont Housing Finance Agency; People’s United Bank’ the Vermont Community Development Program; the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board; the HOME Investment Partnership; The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation; Efficiency Vermont; the TD Charitable Foundation, Commons Energy; Enterprise Community Partners; The Housing Assistance Council; Vermont Gas; as well as the Town of Milton.

Springpoint Senior Living Receives Funding for N.J. Rental Housing

Non-profit provider Springpoint Senior Living received funding from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to move forward with rental housing in Ocean County for older adults who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Springpoint is using these funds, along with low-income housing tax credit equity, and funds to be provided by the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program for Sandy recovery, to repurpose a building on its Crestwood Manor continuing care retirement community (CCRC) campus.

As a result of the repositioning, the new affordable rental housing will be called Heritage at Whiting.

The rental community offers private one- and two-bedroom apartments that include amenities such as kitchens with full-size stainless steel appliances, modern bathrooms with walk-in showers and spacious walk-in closets.

Rental rates begin at $451 for a one-bedroom to $930 for a two-bedroom.

Springpoint expects construction to be completed by this fall, and the first residents are expected to move-in by October.

Roger B. Kennedy Construction Breaks Ground on $10 Million Fla. Community

Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Roger B. Kennedy Construction this week broke ground for the Brixton Landing Apartments senior living facility, which is located in the Orlando suburb of Apopka, Fla.

The $10 million construction contract with Wendover Housing Partners LLC of Orlando will produce an 80-unit senior living apartment community.

Orlando-based Slocum Platts Architects designed the project, which is slated for completion in February 2017.

Construction: Completed

Sinai Residences Hosts Grand Opening for $265 Million Fla. CCRC 

This week, the $265 million Sinai Residences of Boca Raton celebrated its grand opening in Boca Raton, Fla.

The community features more than 350 state-of-the-art residences, providing support for all stages of senior life, including 234 independent living apartment homes, and an on-site continuum of care, including 48 assisted living residences, 60 skilled nursing suites and 24 private memory care suites.

The not-for-profit CCRC was developed and is overseen by the Board of Managers of Federation CCRC Development, LLC, an affiliate of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

Sinai Residences offers a wealth of luxury services and amenities, including hospitality, recreational and social services, cultural and academic pursuits, fitness programs, as well as gourmet dining. The community also offers a kosher dining experience.

The CCRC is located on the north side of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County campus west of Boca Raton.

Specifically, the Sinai Residences fills acres of land that had been vacant on the Federation campus since it first officially opened its doors in 1991.

Over time, the project has brought more than 550 full-time jobs to Palm Beach County, including 325 full-time construction-related jobs, and is soon to reach a total of 225 Sinai Residences employees.

The Sinai Residences development team, led by Greenbrier Development of Dallas, includes Suffolk Construction, Perkins-Eastman Architects, H.J. Sims & Co. investment bankers, among others.

In addition, Des Moines, Iowa-based Life Care Services manages the community.

Caddis Opens New Texas Assisted Living Community

Caddis, a national health care real estate firm headquartered in Dallas, recently opened a 96-bed assisted living and memory care community on the north side of Fort Worth, Texas.

Heartis Eagle Mountain is a 61,125-square-foot community that includes 54 spacious assisted living units (61 beds) and a dedicated 35-bed memory care unit.

Located on a 4.3-acre site at 3141 Dalhart Drive, the community sits about one mile from Eagle Mountain Lake, with easy access to U.S. Highway 287 and Interstate 35W.

Heartis Eagle Mountain is owned by a Caddis affiliate and managed by Eugene, Ore.-based Good Neighbor Care, a company with more than two decades of senior living management experience in Texas and several other states.

In terms of amenities, Heartis Eagle Mountain offers game and activity rooms, a beauty/barber shop, outdoor dining room that serves chef-prepared meals, common areas, daily social and recreational activities, along with licensed nursing services, landscaped grounds, a 24-hour emergency call system, housekeeping and laundry services.

The architect for the project was Austin, Texas-based Katus LLC.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (5/5/16) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Rendering of Arcardia Senior Living, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky —Photo courtesy of Arcadia Senior Living)

Construction: Planned

Arcadia Community Planned in Kentucky

A new senior housing community in Bowling Green, Kentucky is being planned by Arcadia Communities. The community will be constructed on a seven acre portion of land and will encompass 80,000 square feet.

DMK Development is working with Arcadia to develop the community, which will include 79 studio, one- and two-bedroom units for independent living, assisted living and memory care.

Amenities include a fitness center, outdoor walking paths, a library, baking kitchen, art studio, small dog park, theater, happy hour and internet lounge, rose-garden terrace, patio seating with fire pit, restaurant-style dining room, a private dining room for special occasions and 24-hour staffing.

Construction is planned to begin in the coming weeks.

Senior Community in Wisconsin Gets Upgrades Under New Ownership

Formerly, a New Perspective Senior Living facility, the community in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, will be purchased by Castle Senior Living Inc. and will undergo remodeling.

The hope is to begin remodeling as soon as possible with plans to open the community to residents in spring 2017, according to Castle.

Once the remodel is finished there will be 26-28 units and the anticipated cost will be $1.6 million, which includes the purchase price of the facility.

Construction: In progress

Ground Broken at New LCB Senior Living Community 

Located in Melrose, Massachusetts, the Residence at Melrose celebrated its groundbreaking. The LCB Senior Living community ill be a 90-apartment independent living, assisted living and memory care residence.

Both independent living and assisted living units will include kitchenettes and private bathrooms. Other amenities include an on-site gourmet restaurant that will allow residents to dine on their own schedules, community living rooms and a library, media room, recreation facilities, outdoor sitting areas, 24-hour security and laundry and cleaning services.

Residents with early stage Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairments will receive LCB’s Reflections Memory Care services.

The community is expected to open in spring 2017.

N.Y. Affordable Senior Housing Community Underway

This week, ground broke on a new senior living residence in Queens, New York. Corona Senior Residence will be a 68-unit affordable housing apartment building. The Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC) will own the building.

All apartments will be income-restricted except a superintendent’s unit, with 21 units reserved for vulnerable seniors.

The building is being designed by think! Architecture and Design and Bruno Frusta Contraction, Inc. is in charge of construction. Construction of the building was financed under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York: a Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan.

Corona Senior Residence is anticipated to be complete in spring 2018.

StoryPoint Senior Living To Start Four New Projects

Headquartered in Saline, Michigan, StoryPoint Senior Living has announced four new projects in Ohio and Indiana.

One community is already underway. StoryPoint Waterville, located in Waterville, Ohio broke ground in August and once complete will offer 168 apartment homes for independent living, “enhanced” living and memory care.

StoryPoint Chesterton, located in Chesterton, Indiana, will break ground at the end of this month on a 188,000 square-foot independent and enhanced living community that will feature 162 apartment homes.

At the end of November, StoryPoint Fort Wayne, in Fort Wayne, Indiana will break ground and will offer independent living and enhanced living as well.

The last community in the project will break ground in December will be StoryPoint Fairfield, in Fairfield, Ohio and will feature independent living, enhanced living and memory care and will be 221,000 square feet.

All of the communities will be rental communities and will feature various dining options from cafe-style dining to bistro and restaurant-style dining.

Construction Begins on $11 Million Senior Community in New York

As part of a larger $250 million project in Onondaga, New York, Peregrine Senior Living Company recently began construction on an $11 million memory care community.

The 46,000 square-foot community will offer care for 64 residents who have Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

The memory care community is the first to be constructed as part of the larger project in Onondaga. The project may take as many as five years to complete.

Construction: Complete

Ohio Senior Community Completes $7 Million Rehab

Located in Belpre, Ohio, Putnam Howe Village senior living community has completed a $7 million rehabilitation project that took place over the last year.

The community is a 51-unit affordable housing community and the rehabilitation that took place included a new exterior facade, windows and roof, an expanded interior common area and upgrades to handicapped accessible units.

Putnam Howe Village was originally built in 1983 by National Church Residences and was awarded a 9% tax credit from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency in 2014 for the upgrades.

Written by Alana Stramowski

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (10/27/16) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Lancaster Pollard Helps Two California-Based Senior Living Providers Refinance Communities 

Lancaster Pollard recently helped two California-based clients refinance their senior housing properties using the Fannie Mae Seniors Housing program.

First, Lancaster Pollard assisted Sterling Senior Communities in completing a $19 million refinance of Tanner Springs, a 115-bed assisted living and memory care community in Oregon. The move refinanced an existing $10.5 million HUD loan and included a reimbursement of $8.2 million for previously incurred cap expenditures. Jason Dopoulos led the transaction for Lancaster Pollard, the company said in a press release.

In the second transaction, Lancaster Pollard helped Cornerstone Assisted Living Communities with a $14.5 million refinance with the Fannie Mae Seniors Housing program. The 110-bed assisted living community, located in northern California, successfully refinanced $9.6 million of existing debt and included a reimbursement of $4 million for cap expenditures that were previously incurred, with the remaining loan amount used to pay transaction expenses. Grant Goodman led the transaction for Lancaster Pollard.

Casey Moore and Doug Harper, managing directors of agency finance at Lancaster Pollard, helped both Goodman and Dopoulos with the transactions.

The Fannie Mae Seniors Housing program provides intermediate and long-term variable or fixed-rate non-recourse loans in a timely and cost efficient manner for the acquisition or refinance of stabilized properties.

iBorrow Provides $13.5 Million Loan to Azure Leisure Living

A Los Angeles-based private direct lender for commercial real estate, iBorrow, provided a $13.5 million loan to Azure Leisure Living for La Palma Royale, an assisted living community in Anaheim, California.

The 199-bed, 73,641-square-foot building was constructed in 1974, and has been remodeled two times since then.

Azure Leisure Living, the borrower, intends to utilize the funds, along with an additional $8 million in equity, to buy the community. Azure began co-managing the community earlier in 2016 and has boosted the occupancy rate up to the national average, iBorrow noted.

The fact that Azure Leisure Living invested $8 million of new equity in connection with the acquisition, with little debt in any of their other properties, helped iBorrow make the decision to loan the $13.5 million, iBorrow CEO Brian Good said in a press release.

“Also, the facility qualifies for the federally funded Assisted Living Waiver program—which provides additional income to the operator,” Good added. “Most lenders were afraid to underwrite the property due to its special use, but we created a loan structure that leaves us confident that the property will perform to its full potential and that investors are well protected.”

RED Continues Strong Relationship with National Church Residences with a MAP and Lean Closing for Ohio Independent and Assisted Living Facility

The mortgage banking arm of RED Capital Group, LLC, RED Mortgage Capital, recently coordinated a MAP and Lean closing with National Church Residences for a refinance and renovation of Portage Trail Village, a property in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Portage Trail is a 13-story, 183-unit HUD Section 202 apartment community with occupancy limited to heads of household who are 62 years and older or handicapped. The property, which National Church Residences purchased in 1991, is 100% Section 8 subsidized.

As part of the Assisted Living Conversion Program (ALCP) through HUD, National Church Residences renovated Portage Trail in 2009 to convert the first six floors of the building to assisted living units. The remaining floors at Portage Trail are still independent living units.

The $3.1 million FHA MAP financing, together with $1.06 million in FHA Lean financing, is set to cover the rehabilitation of Portage Trail, according to RED Capital. The process required the building to be divided into two distinct condominium facilities. The independent living units were funded under the MAP program, and the rehab for the assisted living units was funded via the Lean program.

Additionally, National Church Residences was able to leverage more equity from Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), as well as a $1 million subordinate loan from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

Capital Funding Group Announces $25 Million in Loan Closings

Capital Funding Group (CFG) recently announced several loan closings, including a $2.5 million working capital line of credit for La Brea Rehabilitation Center; a $17.6 million HUD 232 loan to finance the new construction of an assisted living community in Cary, North Carolina; and a $5 million cash flow loan for a Texas skilled nursing facility operator. Together, these loan closings total about $25 million.

Once finished, the new assisted living community in Cary, North Carolina will have 40 assisted living units and 40 memory care units. The community is scheduled to open in May 2017. The loan, which closed on Sept. 29, was originated by CFG Director of Real Estate Finance Gary Sever. Capital Funding, LLC acted as only lender.

CFG Director Chip Woelper, meanwhile, originated the $2.5 million working capital line of credit for The Rehabilitation Center on La Brea in Los Angeles, California. The loan closed in October.

Jeffrey Stein, an executive managing director at CFG, originated the $5 million cash flow loan for the Texas skilled nursing facility operator. The loan also closed in October.

Lancaster Pollard Closes Deals Using New HUD Debt Eligibility Guidance

Lancaster Pollard recently announced the successful closings of 10 different transactions for three different clients utilizing the updated HUD debt eligibility guidance.

Six of the transactions were for a portfolio of properties owned and operated by The Brook Retirement Communities, a senior housing provider with communities in central and northern Michigan. Lancaster Pollard helped Brook Retirement Communities recapitalize six of its communities with the FHA Sec. 232/223(f) program for a total loan amount of $26.9 million.

Using the new debt eligibility guidance, Lancaster Pollard obtained the waiver required to start the process right away, enabling the borrower to benefit from permanent financing at a low interest rate. Brandon Healy led the transactions for Lancaster Pollard, the company said.

Lancaster Pollard also helped Agemark Corporation bypass the two-year seasoning period and refinance two of its memory care communities in Nebraska with the FHA Sec. 232/223(f) program. The total loan amount was $11.1 million, according to Lancaster Pollard. Grant Goodman led these transactions for Lancaster Pollard.

The last two transactions were for a senior housing operator in the Midwest that was interested in buying out its partners and refinancing the communities’ existing debt.

“We utilized our internal bridge loan platform to structure the partner buyout and refinance of existing facility debt,” said Healy, who again led the transactions for Lancaster Pollard. “We then submitted the FHA 232/223(f) applications as soon as the new debt eligibility guidance was released.”

As part of the new HUD guidance, debt eligibility and seasoning definitions may be broadened to enable more immediate refinancing of project-related debt in the operator’s name. Additionally, bridge financing may be utilized for partner buy-outs and identity of interest (IOI) purchases. Both of these options are subject to the review of HUD. Eligible indebtedness and loan-to-value (LTV) requirements vary, depending on the specific circumstances surrounding a transaction.

CBRE Arranges $77.3 Million Sale and $50.5 Million Financing of Senior Housing Communities in Georgia 

CBRE Capital Markets’ National Senior Housing group recently arranged the sale of two senior housing communities in Georgia to an affiliate of Arcapita Investment Management US for $77.25 million, or $327,330 per unit.

The communities included in the transaction are Arbor Terrace of East Cobb in Marietta, Georgia, which has 90 units; and Arbor Terrace Peachtree City in Peachtree City, Georgia, which has 146 units.

“The buyer will continue to use the current operator, The Arbor Company, through the acquisition of these communities. Plans to further expand this relationship are ongoing,“  CBRE National Senior Housing Executive Vice President Lisa Widmier said.

Widmier and Matthew Whitlock of CBRE Capital Markets’ National Senior Housing team represented the seller, affiliates of Capitol Seniors Housing.

Meanwhile, Aron Will of CBRE Capital Markets’ National Senior Housing Team originated $50.5 million in acquisition financing on the borrower’s behalf. CBRE, via its Freddie Mac Seller Servicer direct lending program, secured a fixed-rate, seven-year loan with 36 months interest only.

Together, Arbor Terrace of East Cobb and Arbor Terrace Peachtree City have 236 independent living, assisted living, personal care and memory care units.

Walker & Dunlop Closes $25 Million Fannie Mae Loan for Seniors Community in Washington 

Walker & Dunlop Inc. recently arranged a $25 million loan for Wheatland Village, a Class A independent living, assisted living and memory care community operated by Portland, Oregon-based Generations Senior Living in Walla Walla, Washington. In total, the community has 134 independent living units, 62 assisted living units and 38 memory care units.

Generations Senior Living developed Wheatland Village in 2004 via a partnership with a not-for-profit hospital.

William Jackson and Jeffrey Ringwald of Walker & Dunlop structured the 15-year, fixed-rate Fannie Mae loan featuring a 30-year amortization schedule. The deal consolidates two existing loans and has a 60% loan-to-value ratio.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

The post Senior Housing Finance Activity: Lancaster Pollard, RED Capital appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Construction: Planned

Carriage Hill Assisted Living to Break Ground Next Week

Carriage Hill Assisted Living will break ground on a new assisted living facility in Madbury, New Hampshire on March 26, the company said in a release.

The 24-bed facility will feature architectural features in the style of a New England barn, living rooms, a music room, antique furnishings and other “homey” touches.

The intent of the design is meant to invoke a more intimate setting for Carriage Hill to provide a high degree elf care and attention, said Sara Nadeau, Carriage Hill’s president and administrator, in a written statement.

“It’s one of the few assisted living facilities in New Hampshire designed to be an intimate place where people can enjoy their lives, entertain family and friends and form new friendships,” she said.

Carriage Hill is a family-owned, family-managed facility. Along with the ground breaking later this month, the company will introduce a new website, which will offer details such as floor plans, pricing, services, amenities and other details.

Hawthorn Retirement Group Proposes 150-Unit Project in Maine

Vancouver, Wash.-based Hawthorn Retirement Group wants to build a 150-unit senior living community in Portland, Maine, on a site where the local City Council last year had rejected a proposal for a 96-unit condo development, reports Portland Press Herald.

Hawthorn submitted its project proposal to Portland’s planning office last week and is currently seeking a zoning text amendment to allow congregate housing on the 18-acre property. A hearing date before the Planning Board has not yet been set.

Project plans would include a four-story building built on 10 acres, with the remaining eight acres maintained as open space. In total, the footprint of the facility would be 40,000-square-feet.

Floor plans would include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments that would rent for $1,995 to $4,100 per month—all-inclusive rates that would cover three daily meals served in a restaurant-style dining room, a live-in management team, weekly housekeeping and regular maintenance service.

The proposal from Hawthorn is one of several senior housing projects either proposed or under construction in Greater Portland, an area where growing demand is being fueled by Maine’s rapidly aging population.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maine has the highest median age in the nation at 43.9 years, and the second-highest proportion of people age 65 and older—17.7%. Only Florida is higher at 18.6%.

San Diego Affordable Housing to Convert into Assisted Living 

The Palms, originally known as the Bay View Hotel in San Diego, is now embarking on a future as an assisted living facility, reports local NBC-7 San Diego.

In recent years, the building has provided affordable apartments, but a shift in more seniors with memory issues and other special needs in the area is prompting the conversion into assisted living.

However, before that happens, the building needs at least “a million dollars” in repairs and basic upgrades to be brought “up to code,” according to developers.

A re-purposing plan is proposing to invest $15 million in a renovation project, one that is built to state historical standards, to convert the Palms into a 70-unit facility that will offer both assisted living and memory care.

National Church Residences Plans 190-Unit Community in Ohio

Ohio-based not-for-profit senior housing provider National Church Residences is planning a 190-unit community in Westerville, Ohio, reports Columbus Business First.

Under the proposed plans, the National Church Residences Central College community would include 96 independent living apartments, 50 assisted living units with about half of them devoted to memory care, and a 22-bed nursing home within a four-story, 155,000-square-foot complex. Another 22 independent living units would be located in  one-story cottages on the campus.

No budget has yet been set for the project, which is slated to for a conceptual review before the Westerville Planning Commission for 10 acres that the non-profit NCR would buy from Central College Presbyterian Church.

Construction: In process

Primrose Retirement Community Expanding with 20-Unit Villa

Aberdeen, S.D.-based Primrose Retirement Communities is adding town homes and a clubhouse to one of its communities in Pueblo, Colo., reports The Pueblo Chieftain.

Expansion plans call for building a complex of 20 town homes and a clubhouse adjacent to the existing community’s 40 independent living and 40 assisted living apartments.

While the estimated development costs were not disclosed, the Pueblo Regional Building Department lists the construction value at $2.82 million.

Construction is expected to finish by late 2015.

Four Seasons-Inspired Assisted Living Community to Open Later this Month in N.Y.

A new luxury assisted living and memory care community plans to redefine retirement living in the New York area when it opens later this month.

The Ambassador is a collaboration between developer Amba P. Sharma; the architectural firm of Perkins Eastman Architects of Stamford, Conn.; Jasper Design of Massachusetts; and Solutions-Advisors, a management consultant fem specializing in senior housing community development.

The community offers 115 residents in a variety of floor plans, from studios to two-bedroom apartments, with 95 apartments dedicated to assisted living and 20 for memory care.

Located in Scarsdale, N.Y., The Ambassador’s architectural exterios draws from the residential character of the surrounding Scarsdale area and employs elements of Tudor Revival architectural style.

It’s seven-acre wooded site offered designers and developers the opportunity to create an estate-like ambiance to capitalize on the site’s secluded setting and natural surroundings.

The community’s interiors, furnishings and color schemes were inspired by the Four Seasons Hotels, as the development team sought to create interior similar to a grand mansion.

The Ambassador features  a performing arts center, movie theater and children’s playroom, signature restaurant, fine arts studio, full-service beauty salon and spa, living room and lounge with fireplaces.

Sharma, who has been involved in senior housing communities since the 1980s, was a partner in the luxury senior living community, The Bristal at North Hills on Long Island.

HJ Sims Provides Financing for 212-Unit Florida Project

HJ Sims is financing a new senior living community in Kissimmee, Fla., a project that involves Life Care Services and 55-plus community developer AV Homes, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVHI).

Tuscan Isle will be comprised of 120 independent living units, 56 assisted living units and 36 memory care units at its location immediately adjacent to Solivita, a residential age 55-plus community with more than 7,000 residents.

The independent living units will be housed in a four-story building, made up of one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 706- to 1,230-square-feet. Meanwhile, the assisted living units will consist of studios and one/two bedroom units ranging in size from 390- to 620-square-feet.

Memory care units will provide housing for 36 residents in private rooms, while common areas will offer space for dining, activities and a wide range of amenities.

The Tuscan Isle project, which began in January, has a planned completion date for spring 2016. Phase two of construction will incorporate a skilled nursing expansion.

The community has a preliminary shared services agreement with AV Homes, which developed the master-planned Solivita community.

Construction financing consisted of $40,645,000 tax-exempt bonds and $1,710,000 taxable bonds, making the total debt financing $42,355,000. The preferred equity consisted of taxable bonds for accredited investors, totaling $6.2 million.

The owners of Tuscan Isle include affiliates of Vieste Group, a program management and development services company from Chicago; HJ Sims Investments; Life Care Services; and Core Construction Group, a Fla.-based construction company.

United Group Breaking Ground on $23 Million N.Y. Development

Troy, N.Y.-based developer United Group is constructing its latest senior housing project, a $23 million, 148-unit development in Bethlehem, N.Y., reports Albany Business Review.

The community, dubbed Glenmont Abbey Village, is designed for active, independent adults age 55 and older, and is just one of similar projects United Group has in its pipeline.

Financed by $4.5 million in private equity the company raised last year and a loan from Berkshire Bank, the project is slated for completion by this fall.

Rochester, N.Y.-based LeChase Construction is the builder of Glenmont Abbey Village.

Luxury Assisted Living and Memory Care Coming to St. Louis County

Construction is now underway on Dougherty Ferry Assisted Living and Memory Care, a new community that aims to offer luxury at an affordable price in St. Louis.

Slated to open in early 2016, Dougherty Ferry Assisted Living and Memory Care is a project of Spectrum Retirement Communities, a Denver-based company developer, owner and operator of senior living communities across the U.S.

St. Louis-based Vessel Architecture & Design designed the community, while Catamount Constructors is the general contractor for the project.

The 80,000-square-foot community is located on the northwest corner of Dougherty Ferry and Big Bend roads. It will feature 65 assisted living and 32 memory care residences ranging in size from studio apartments to two-bedroom units.

Residents will be able to take advantage of the community’s amenities, which include chef-prepared dining, Colors of Spectrum wellness programs and entertainment activities — or access attractions in the surrounding area.

“Seniors and their families are looking for communities that cater to an active lifestyle, with a flexible leasing program, high-class amenities at an affordable price, and convenient access to the neighborhood,” said Jeff Kraus, managing director of Spectrum, in a written statement.

Spectrum Retirement Communities owns and operates 26 senior  living communities in 11 states. Now in its 10th year of operations, the company oversees more than 3,200 apartments and employs more than 1,700 staff. Spectrum currently has seven communities under construction and will manage 3,600 senior apartment homes by 2015.

Dougherty Ferry is Spectrum’s fifth community in the St. Louis metro area and the sixth in the state.

Construction: Completed

Erickson Living Opens New Dining Venue at Colorado CCRC

This week, Erickson Living announced it has opened a new upscale dining venue at its Wind Crest continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Highlands Ranch, Colo.

The 80-seat, reservation-only Windows Restaurant serves a seasonal dinner menu with two daily chef specials. Guests dining at the new venue can take in views of the Denver skyline and Rocky Mountain Foothills. Inside, modern light fixtures hang from a vaulted two-story ceiling.

Windows adds to Wind Crest’s other dining options, Fireside Restaurant and the Fly’n B Cafe, a causal dining setting that offers short-order items such as salads, deli-style sandwiches and more.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (3/19/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Edgemere Cocktail Lounge – Photo Courtesy of Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation)

Construction: Planned

Dallas CCRC Plans $36 Million Expansion

Edgemere, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Dallas, will soon begin a large-scale expansion and renovation project to address the growing demand for senior living options in the area.

Financing for the project was completed through the sale of $36 million in series 2015 bonds, according to a release from Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC), which sponsors Edgemere.

The renovation project is designed to bridge the gap between the Italian elegance of Edgemere is known for and the modern luxuries that current and future retirees are looking for.

One of the highlights of the construction project will be the addition of a brand new 6,000-square-foot performing arts center will be built to provide a larger abundance of entertainment options. The nearly two-story building will be located in the community’s center courtyard and will house a bar and lounge, arched ceilings with exposed wooden beams and a stage for speakers and performers.

An extensive renovation is also planned for the community’s two dining that, when finished, will embrace the look and feel of restaurants in Italy.

The Medici Dining Room will serve steak, seafood and chops and will provide beer and wine tap services. Additionally, a new bar and lounge area with fireplace will be added for pre- and post-dinner cocktails.

Edgemere’s Portobella Cafe will be expanded and will continue to provide a more casual dining atmosphere and food options. It will also feature an exhibition kitchen design and diner-style seating and appearance.

The Plaza at Edgemere will also be undergoing an extensive expansion that will add eight new assisted living apartment homes, 12 new memory support suites and 15 new skilled nursing private suites.

Andres Construction will be the general contractor for the project, while AG Architecture will be the design firm. Other project partners include interior design firm Looney & Associates; design consultants Faulkner Design Group and Kimley-Horn. Ziegler Capital Markets served as bond underwriter for the bond transaction.

Construction is expected to begin August 2015, with a scheduled completion targeted for the first quarter of 2018.

Construction: In process

Spectrum Underway on Sitework for Chicagoland Community

Denver-based Spectrum Retirement Communities has announced construction plans for Green Oaks Senior Living, launching the transformation of the area surrounding the former Jamaica Gardens Nursery site in Libertyville, Ill.

Slated to open in late 2016, the community will offer seniors a wide range of living options, all featuring luxury amenities at an affordable price, including flexible month-to-month leasing options, Spectrum stated in a release.

The 200,000-square-foot community is located at 14595 W. Rockland Road. It will feature 110 independent living and 60 assisted living residences ranging in size from studio apartments to two-bedroom lakeside cottages.

Residents will be able to take advantage of the community’s “top-flight” amenities, Spectrum said, which include chef-prepared dining, the Colors of Spectrum wellness programs and entertainment activities—as well as exterior walking paths through the community’s gardens.

The community will also feature 24 memory care residences and Spetrum’s unique Residence Club, which allows residents with mild cognitive impairment to stay in an assisted living apartment and receive additional support from a dedicated Life Enrichment Specialist.

Senior Lifestyle Corp. to Break Ground on New Fla. Community

Chicago-based Senior Lifestyle Corporation will officially break ground  June 5 for The Sheridan at Cooper City, an 111-unit assisted living and memory care community in Cooper City, Fla.

The Sheridan at Cooper City will open in late 2016 and will feature 72 assisted living and 39 memory care apartments purposely built and programmed to support those with Alzheimer’s.

At the community, residents will have access to 20,000-square-feet of common space with dining rooms, living rooms, an internet cafe, an art studio, salon, fitness center and physical therapy spaces.

PruittHealth Announces New Skilled Nursing Center in Atlanta

PruittHealth announced this week its official expansion in Atlanta with a new skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.

PruittHealth – Virginia Park spans 3.6 acres in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland. The 40,302-square-foot building will allow PruittHealth to offer high-quality post-acute care services to 128 beds and 18 specialty vent bends.

The new skilled nursing center is located at 1000 Briarcliff Road in Atlanta.

Construction: Completed

Aptura-Designed Life Care Services Community to Open in Fla.

A newly constructed assisted living and memory care community designed in partnership with Direct Supply’s Aptura division and Life Care Services plans to open its doors next week in North Port, Fla.

The Springs at South Biscayne features interior design that blends Mediterranean influences with a residential feel meant to convey vitality and well-being, with color schemes that include use of warm woods, painted millwork and strong earth tones.

Dedicated exclusively to senior living, Aptura is a nationally recognized development services firm that offers a comprehensive suite of services to support projects from start to finish. The company is part of Direct Supply, a leading provider of equipment, eCommerce and service solutions to the senior living industry.

Integral Senior Living-Managed Community Breaks Ground in Fresno, Calif.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based Integral Senior Living (ISL) this week announced a new community it is managing has recently started construction in Fresno, Calif.

Kingston Bay Senior Living, a new assisted living and memory care community located in northwest Fresno anticipates opening in spring 2016.

The community represents a commitment to provide a warm and nurturing environment combined with the next generation of senior care technology for its residents, ISL stated in a release.

Sitting on four acres, the 86,467-square-foot community will have 107 residences, which will consist of 61 one-bedroom and 22 studio bedroom assisted living apartment homes, along with 24 memory care residences.

Quiring General, a senior care construction company headquartered in Fresno, is building the project.

Brookhaven Manor Celebrates Grand Re-Opening in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Brookhaven Manor, an age 55 and older luxury, independent living community, recently completed renovations to its campus is Ann Arbor, Mich., the community announced last week.

The 138-apartment home community has undergone a major remodeling to the dining room, library, salon, media room, great room and living room, while also adding several new amenities, including a café, outdoor patio and casual dining area, fitness center, and new tech enhancements such as computer stations with internet access, enhanced Wi-Fi and an expanded “quiet” library reading area.

A grand re-opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for Friday, June 5 at the Ann Arbor community located at 401 West Oakbrook Drive.

Brookhaven Manor is managed by Fourmidable of Bingham Farms, Mich., a national real estate management company specializing in senior and family apartment communities.

Renovations were designed by Fusco, Shaffer & Pappas, Inc., based in Ferndale, Mich. The construction manager was Taylor, Mich.-based J.S. Vig Construction Company. Interior finishes and furnishings were designed by InnerSpace Design of Ann Arbor.

National Homebuilder Debuts First 55+ Community in Austin

Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE: TMHC), a national homebuilder and developer based in Scottsdale, Ariz., last week announced the debut of its first age 55-plus community in Austin, Texas: Heritage at Vizcaya.

The community, built under TMHC’s “Taylor Morrison” brand, will debut six new models with three distinct series: the Landmark, Pinnacle and Summit, totaling 12 floor plans. Each series has its own unique style, with homes at Heritage at Vizcaya ranging from approximately 1,536- to 3,046-square-feet.

Pricing starts in the mid-$200,000s, Taylor Morrison stated in a release.

Each home at Heritage will feature an open layout, spacious master suite, gourmet kitchen and many upgrade options. Within each home, there will also be energy-efficient options, tech-ready wiring and floor plan configurations.

Heritage at Vizcaya is the second 55+ neighborhood to open from Taylor Morrison this year, joining the company’s Esplanade development in Orlando.

The company’s Skyestone Denver and Bonterra at Woodforest communities opened in 2014, and more 55+ communities are being slated for Taylor Morrison.

USA Properties Fund Holds Grand Opening for Affordable Senior Housing in Sacramento

California-based developer USA Properties Fund Inc. is holding a grand opening celebration June 4 for Arbor Creek Senior Apartments, an affordable senior living community in Sacramento, Calif.

As an affordable-designated community, Arbor Creek Senior Apartments is for seniors age 55 years or older who earn 60% or less of the area median income for Sacramento County. Rents range from $545 to $609 for the one-bedroom apartments, and $653 to $730 for the two-bedroom units.

For the project, USA Properties partnered with Riverside Charitable in the development of the 60-unit apartment community, which features 48 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units.

Amenities at the community include a 1,676-square-foot community center that includes a computer room, fitness center and kitchen for residents. Arbor Creek Senior Apartments also include environmentally-friendly features such as a storm-water management filtering system and water-efficient landscape and irrigation design.

The County of Sacramento, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and US Bank Community Lending are partners on the $14.1 million project.

The community is located at 8340 Elk Grove Florin Road in Sacramento, just outside the City of Elk Grove.

Discovery Village Senior Living Facility Opens in Naples, Fla.

The Henning Group has completed construction of the Discovery Village Senior Living Facility in Naples, Fla., a 120,000-square-foot community with 120 resident units.

The facility includes three-story assisted living and independent living winds, along with an attached self-contained one-story memory care unit.

A main floor common area includes the community’s “Legends” Club & Bar, a living area with a gas fireplace, the “Sensations” dining room with an exhibition kitchen, a private dining room and a full-service restaurant-style kitchen. Also featured is a therapy pool and wellness center, and Bailey’s Bistro and Ice Cream Parlor.

The second floor common areas boast numerous amenities as well, including a multi-purpose theater with a movie screen and cinema-style seating; a card room; library/media center; arts and crafts; and an activity director.

On the third floor of the facility lies the community salon and spa, where residents can get haircuts, manicures and massages.

Within its self-contained area, the memory care wing will enjoy its own amenities, including a country kitchen and dining room, activity areas, family and living rooms, beauty salon and spa.

Outside, multiple courtyards, gardens for planting, lawn game activities and trails offer residents additional opportunities for activity and socialization.

Discovery Village is in the final stages of obtaining operating licenses and residents are scheduled to begin moving in to their new units in June 2015.

Cincinnati Firm Launches LEED Senior Apartments Near Atlanta

Cincinnati-based firm Sol design + consulting announced this week that it has received LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Panola Gardens, a senior living community in Lithonia, Ga.

The 80-unit building, developed and operated by nonprofit provider National Church Residences, offers affordable homes to adults age 55 and older with moderate incomes.

As part of their sustainable, green building design, the apartment homes at Panola Gardens feature ENERGY STAR appliances, high-efficiency heating, cooling and lighting, Grade I high-performance insulation, water-efficient plumbing fixtures and landscaping design, low VOC finishes, Green Label Plus carpet and Forest Stewardship Council sustainably grown and harvested wood components.

Creating a high-performance living environment on a budget is a rewarding challenge, said Sanyog Rathod, AIA, LEED AP+ Homes, and CEO of Sol.

“The marginal investment in green building begins paying back immediately, through reduced energy and water bills, and a healthier indoor environment for residents,” Rathod said. “Panola Gardens is an excellent expression of this common sense approach to serving the market.”

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (6/4/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.