A New York investment company plans to expand its growth platform in the senior housing sector, where it just recently secured a $30 million joint venture to own and operate three communities in the South and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Earlier this month, Care Investment Trust, which is the senior housing arm of New York-based holding company Tiptree Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: TIPT), closed on a $30.8 million joint venture transaction with affiliates of Greenfield Senior Living.
A privately-held provider headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, Greenfield operates 14 senior housing communities—approximately 1,150 units—in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas.
The 360-unit joint venture portfolio comprises a 178-unit independent living facility in Arlington, Texas; an assisted living community in Richmond, Va. with 55 units; along with an existing property Greenfield contributed to the venture located in Oakridge, Tenn. that includes 68 independent living, 44 assisted living and 15 memory care units.
Under the terms of the transaction, Care Investment Trust owns an 80% interest in the joint venture, while Greenfield’s affiliates own the remaining 20%.
Formerly a publicly traded REIT focused on equity investments in senior hosing, Care is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiptree.
Since 2009, the company, under President and CEO Salvatore (Torey) Riso, has focused on building relationships with operators who are looking for an equity or capital partner to help them grow strategically.
“Part of our overall business strategy is to work with best-in-class, experienced regional operators that have been in the senior housing business for some time,” Riso told SHN.
The company builds relationships in two ways: via triple-net lease and joint-venture structures. Under the latter structure, Care and Greenfield plan to implement “extensive” capital improvements to the properties acquired by the joint venture, including adding programing at two of the communities to cater to higher acuity residents.
“Through early 2014, we have been repositioning our legacy portfolio. Now we’re in a spot where we’ll be energetically pursuing stabilized properties, turnaround or repositionings, as well as new development opportunities,” Riso said.
As for the remainder of this year, Care intends to expand its relationships, both existing ones and with newer providers, though the company was mum on pipeline details in terms of how much it plans to spend and the number of assets in its sights.
“We’re looking to continue growing our platform significantly over the course of 2014 and in 2015, and that includes building relationships with new operators as well as building-out relationships with our existing partners.”
Written by Jason Oliva
Companies featured in this article:
Care Investment Trust, Greenfield Senior Living, Tiptree Financial
