American House Senior Living Communities has made its first entry into Tennessee by acquiring more than a dozen former Eclipse Senior Living communities as part of a transaction with Ventas (NYSE: VTR).
The Southfield, Michigan-based senior living operator announced Monday the acquisition of 13 senior living communities formerly branded under Eclipse’s Elmcroft Senior Living umbrella. With its latest addition, American House counts about 70 communities in its senior living portfolio spread across the Midwest, New England and the Southeast.
The operator is currently rolling out branding and signage at each new community, with a targeted completion date in April. The 13 communities may also get additional cap-ex spending in the form of maintenance and building updates down the road.
The 13 communities in Tennessee total about 875 units. The largest community is a 105-unit assisted living/memory care building in Knoxville. The smallest is a 49-unit assisted living/memory care community in Chattanooga.
While American House will continue to grow its presence in the Midwest, Florida, and New England, the company’s strategy in 2022 is to further expand throughout the Southeast, including with new developments and acquisitions in the Carolinas, according to President and CEO Dale Watchowski, who also leads American House’s affiliated development company, Redico.
“The Tennessee transaction allows us to further expand our platform in the Southeast, in accordance with our strategic vision, with a footprint in a state with favorable demographics,” Watchowski told Senior Housing News. “We will start 2022 with 70 communities in the American House portfolio, demonstrating strategic controlled growth.”
American House was previously revealed to be among the eight operators taking over a portfolio of communities formerly operated by Eclipse Senior Living for Vents. In addition to the 13 in Tennessee, American House was also slated to take on two other communities in Kentucky. But another operator ended up managing them in the end.
Other companies taking on former Eclipse properties include Sinceri Senior Living, Priority Life Care and Sonida Senior Living, the company formerly known as Capital Senior Living (NYSE:CSU).
American House had been on a growth spree in the latter half of 2021. The company in October inked a new joint-venture agreement with Monarch Alternative Capital to acquire, develop, and manage senior housing communities across the country, initially along the East Coast. The operator last May also named a new COO to help support an aggressive growth strategy.
“We will continue to pursue ground-up development, redevelopment, and acquisitions,” Watchowski said.
American House currently has six developments underway in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Oak Park, Illinois; Scarborough, Maine; Jacksonville, Florida; and Ann Arbor and Meridian Township, Michigan.
In identifying communities for management transitions, Ventas looks for operators with strong alignment to the real estate investment trust (REIT), good leadership, proven operational expertise and skills such as revenue management. The REIT also looks for operators that have demonstrated growth and possess an infrastructure to facilitate future expansion.
“Part of what we’re trying to learn about operators is track record, both operationally and geographically, as well as what asset classes they are comfortable with,” Ventas EVP of Senior Housing Justin Hutchens told Senior Housing News last month. “[And] most importantly, [that] they are interested in managing a middle-market assisted living product.”
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