Welltower (NYSE: WELL) Executive Vice President, Business & Relationship Management Mercedes Kerr is leaving the Toledo, Ohio-based health care real estate investment trust (REIT) to assume the role of President at partner company Belmont Village Senior Living, Welltower announced in a press release Monday. Belmont Village Founder Patricia Will will continue as founder and CEO.
Kerr, who has been in her current role since July 2016, will join Houston-based Belmont Village on Sept. 3, 2019. Her last day at Welltower will be July 1. She has been with the REIT since 2008.
During her time at Welltower, Kerr has been tasked with identifying, cultivating and expanding upon relationships with senior housing operators including Belmont Village, as well as real estate developers, investors and financial institutions and health systems to grow the company’s portfolio.
Last month, Welltower reported total revenue of 1.27 billion in Q1, a 13.4% increase over Q1 2018. Welltower reported resident fees and service revenue of $868.3 million, an 18% increase year-over-year. Rental income grew 11% to $381.1 million.
The company’s overall same-store net operating income (NOI) increased 3.1%, led by a 3% growth in its seniors housing operating portfolio (SHOP). SHOP occupancy dropped 100 basis points year-over-year, to 86.2%.
In Belmont Village, Kerr will join a company with one of the biggest development pipelines in senior living. The company is active in building senior housing in urban mixed-use settings and is set to open a new community in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood this summer. It is embracing intergenerational living through university partnerships. And it has partnered with Baptist Health South Florida to develop a series of senior housing communities, which Will told Senior Housing News may be the first time a health system is taking an active role in senior housing development.
Kerr said she looks forward to continuing working with Welltower when she assumes her duties at Belmont Village.
“Playing a role in the growth and transformation of Welltower while working alongside Tom DeRosa has been a tremendous privilege,” she said in the press release. “This experience has enriched and prepared me well for this exciting opportunity at Belmont Village, as Patricia Will and I will continue to collaborate with Welltower to deliver best-in-class, next generation solutions in seniors housing.”
Will echoed Kerr’s sentiments.
“We are very excited about our ongoing engagement as a premier independent partner of Welltower,” she said in the release. “We are also thrilled to add Mercedes’ incredible strength and stature to our excellent leadership team.”