Editor’s Picks: Mainstreet’s Big Play, REITs Offloading Assets

This week, Senior Housing News readers were curious about Mainstreet’s new company in Canada, and learned more about the senior housing properties REITs have been offloading. Readers were also clued into the philosophy of Virginia Baptist Homes’ new president and CEO, as well as why some industry experts believe independent living is making a comeback.

Most Read 

Mainstreet Primes the Pump for Next Mega-Deal—Mainstreet is creating a new public company in Canada—Mainstreet Health Investments—to build up a portfolio of Canadian and U.S. properties that could eventually be sold. The seed portfolio will consist of 11 senior housing properties in the Chicago region, which Mainstreet is acquiring through a newly formed subsidiary for about $302 million.

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Regional Providers Gobble Up REITs’ Unwanted Properties—Large senior housing owners are offloading assets, to the benefit of smaller, regional providers. In many cases, the offloaded properties may be fledgling or struggling parts of acquired portfolios—properties many REITs aren’t interested in dealing with. “There’s a lot of potential in these underperforming properties if you can focus on what that property needs,” Jason Smeck of RED Capital Group told SHN.

Senior Living CEO Improves Bottom Line with ‘Gatorade Philosophy’—Virginia Baptist Homes’ new president and CEO, Jonathan R. Cook, has helped improve the company’s financial performance by putting forward concrete goals and focusing on the block-and-tackle changes required to achieve them.

Independent Living Heats Up Senior Housing Industry—Again—While independent living was among the most popular senior housing property types pre-recession, the economic downturn took its toll on the asset class, placing both new construction and renovations on hold. In recent months, though, independent living construction has been on the rise, leading some in the industry to believe it’s making a comeback.

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Weekend Read

To Lure Baby Boomers, Senior Centers Try Rebranding—This Wall Street Journal article discusses how senior centers across the U.S. are rebranding to appeal to Baby Boomers, a process that often involves eliminating “old-age labels” like senior, retirement and assisted living. Still, some older adults consider the new euphemisms ridiculous, believing the word “senior” to be a mark of experience.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

In this video, a 36-year-old reporter from The Globe and Mail puts on an “aging suit” and learns what it’s like to live as a senior with stiff joints, hearing loss, kyphosis and impaired vision. One of our reporters, Jason Oliva, did something similar not too long ago.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

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