New Upside Avenue REIT Hopes to Draw Small Investors into Senior Housing

A new, non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) with senior housing aspirations has arrived on the scene.

The REIT, Upside Avenue, plans to start deploying capital at the end of September, Joy Schoffler, chief strategy officer at both the REIT and its affiliate—Austin, Texas-based private equity firm Casoro Capital—told Senior Housing News.

Upside Avenue filed a “mini IPO,” or a Regulation A Plus offering, which enables the REIT to offer shares to the general public, as opposed to just accredited investors. As a result, individual investors can contribute as little as $2,000 to Upside, which will co-invest in senior housing, student housing and multifamily properties alongside high-net-worth investors at Casoro Capital.

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“You don’t have to be a millionaire to invest with us,” Schoffler explained.

On the senior housing front, Upside expects to invest primarily in active adult and independent living communities.

“We’re not looking to do a whole bunch of really intensive medical,” Schoffler said.

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The senior housing properties Upside acquires will likely be Class A, as “there’s not as much opportunity in the B and C assets,” she added. Currently, Casoro’s average hold time is approximately 3.5 years across its portfolio.

The company has traditionally acquired properties in the Sun Belt region and avoided coastal areas, as “the overall demographics don’t really make sense there,” Schoffler explained. For its future senior housing acquisitions, Upside will consider locations where retired populations are moving that “still have good overall economies, job prospects and healthy economic growth.”

Additionally, Upside expects to work exclusively with experienced senior housing operators that have been through both up and down real estate cycles.

“We only work with the best of the best,” Schoffler said.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

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