Like healthcare real estate, senior housing has been on its own roller coaster since the pandemic began and it too has overcome the upheaval to head for better times. Fundamentals are improving and investment is giving this asset class a second and third look. The men and women who manage and cut deals in this sector have done an admirable job in not only surviving the worst of the pandemic, but also spotting the opportunities that have arisen in recent months. As always, we have selected the people who made a difference in this space over the past twelve months. We trust you will agree with us as you read their stories.
INDIVIDUALS
TONY CASSIE Tony Cassie approaches every complex senior housing project with tenacity and curiosity. Cassie has been a managing director at Walker & Dunlop for eight years and he is responsible for the sale and disposition of senior housing assets throughout the U.S. with a focus on the Western region. Cassie brings 16 years of brokerage advisory experience to the company and has closed more than 400 transactions totaling more than $1 billion in transaction volume throughout his career. His achievements last year contributed to Walker & Dunlop earning the Mortgage Bankers Association recognition as the nation’s top multifamily lender in 2020; a year in which the firm closed nearly $600 million in skilled nursing, healthcare and senior housing transactions. Thanks to his diverse professional background, Cassie has a deep understanding of how to streamline operations, advise on strategy and management and implement technology within the healthcare and senior housing industry. Before joining Walker & Dunlop, he worked as first VP at Marcus & Millichap, where he served as a top agent in the Portland office every year. Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, Cassie and his team at Walker & Dunlop were able to complete a large number of sales and debt assignments during 2020. His team’s primary goal was to support owners and operators, help preserve safety protocols and ensure that facilities remained open and productive. Cassie is a member of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and he sits on the executive board of the American Seniors Housing Association.
JACK CUMMING Jack Cumming, a research director for the National Continuing Care Residents Association (NaCCRA), believes that the senior housing sector is essential to America’s response to an aging population. In addition to serving as research director, Cumming serves as an actuary, for which he analyzes the financial strength of continuing care retirement communities. Cumming holds more than 10 years of experience in the industry, including more than five years in his current role. He has become active in senior housing since moving into a continuing care retirement community in 2006. In 2012 he qualified to become a Certified Aging Services professional through the University of North Texas. He serves as a frequent author and is knowledgeable about senior living resident interests, the tax aspects of facility financing, actuarial risks and the disclosure aspects involved with marketing. As a long-time CCRC resident, Cumming gained first-hand experience regarding what works and what doesn’t when dealing with the pandemic. He provides widely-read analyses of management-resident relationships, particularly related to COVID-19 restrictions during the past 18 months. Cumming originally studied European civilization at Princeton University in the 1950s before joining New York Life Insurance Co. as a sales agent and later an underwriter. He worked for Coopers & Lybrand, the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Home Life Insurance Co., Penn Corp. Financial and as a consultant before joining NaCCRA.
TIM DULANY While many senior housing brokers focus on selling existing assets that are stabled with sales prices based on cap-rate, financing methods and increasing occupancy or net operating income, Tim Dulany takes a different approach. Dulany prefers to think outside the box, which leads him to seek ways to find value-add or change-of-use opportunities where there is greater upside for buyers and sellers. Dulany, an SVP at Colliers in Arizona, holds nearly three decades of commercial brokerage experience. With a degree in land planning and zoning, Dulany has applied his senior housing market expertise to become a sought-after advisor for publicly traded and private companies that seek guidance for their senior housing and healthcare assets. Dulany is a 100% commission-based commercial broker with a large team of professionals that back his efforts through administration, marketing, financial analysis, GIS mapping, appraisal, underwriting and more. While he has worked on numerous large developments, sales and transactions, Dulany finds fulfillment in projects that demand creativity. For example, he has worked with several clients to acquire and convert hotels into senior housing properties targeted at median-income seniors. He has also worked with sellers, buyers and zoning attorneys to convert long-term acute care and skilled nursing facilities to behavioral health and substance abuse facilities. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, Dulany was able to secure a zoning change for a client that converted a vacant 250-bed hotel into a behavioral and transitional housing facility. The buyer purchased the property at 30% of replacement cost and the seller sold the property at a higher price than if it was fully stabilized and sold on a cap-rate valuation.
JULIE FERGUSON During her first job out of college at The Fountains Retirement Communities in 1993, Julie Ferguson discovered her passion for senior living. She worked at The Fountains for 11 years, working her way up to VP of construction and development and was instrumental in helping the company grow from two communities to more than 25 communities across the country, while completing her Master’s degree in business administration. Ferguson went on to work in affordable housing at Jonathan Rose Cos. and later joined Real Estate Advisors, before serving as director of senior living at Titan Development, where she served as the company’s first female developer. At Titan Development, Ferguson developed and acquired more than $655 million of senior living communities and participated in raising and deploying a $112 million multi-asset private equity fund. Today, Ferguson serves as SVP of senior living at Ryan Companies US Inc., where she leads the sector for the company, nationwide. Despite joining the firm just before the onset of the pandemic, during Ferguson’s first year at the firm total senior living development grew from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion. During this time, the firm additionally opened four communities and broke ground on nearly $320 million of senior living developments. She has been tasked with increasing Ryan Companies’ senior living portfolio by more than 250% in the next five years, which she plans to accomplish through strategic relationships with operators, financial partners and industry experts. Ferguson leads a team of nearly 60 senior living specialists within five departments and oversees the entire process of senior living, from conception to completion, through an understanding of design, construction, finance and operations. Her end goal remains the same: to create a successful community where seniors can thrive.
JAMES GRABER During his 14-year career in the senior housing industry, James Graber has worked with a wide variety of industry leaders, from lenders, developers, operators and health systems, to investment firms, insurance companies and private equity firms. He has been active in the real estate valuation industry, completing assignments nationally and internationally, while specializing in senior housing and healthcare assets. At CBRE, Graber serves as managing director and the seniors housing & healthcare national practice leader for valuation & advisory services. He leads a geographically diverse team that focuses solely on valuation and advisory services for senior housing assets, including active adult, independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and life plan communities. Graber has led the national practice in completing nearly $40 billion in valuations annually, comprising more than 2,000 assignments per annum. Graber additionally uses data and applied analytics backed by the valuation practice to provide thought-leadership on behalf of the company. During the pandemic, the use of data in predictive analytics to aid clients in decision-making proved invaluable. Graber contributed to the essential business practice of delving into multiple data points, as CBRE continued to increase its data collection and improve available information for the future. Graber is a member of the Appraisal Institute and a committee member for the Appraisal Institute Chapter University Relations. He is also actively involved in the National Investment Center, as well as the American Seniors Housing Association.
TOM GRAPE While working for a senior living provider earlier in his career, Tom Grape observed that seniors were often isolated and did not always receive the best care. Determined to do something about this, Grape worked with Massachusetts state leadership to bring assisted living to the commonwealth, which paved the way for the senior living industry. In 1993, Grape helped write legislation for assisted living in Massachusetts, and he then helped co-found several industry associations, including Mass-ALA and Argentum, in order to establish standards for senior care. In 1997, Grape founded Benchmark Senior Living, one of the Northeast’s largest senior living providers. As chairman and CEO of the firm, Grape oversees the company’s operations, development, investor relations, sales and marketing. In the past three years, Benchmark has added five new communities to its portfolio, including three ground-up builds, a memory care community acquisition and a management contract for Connecticut’s largest continuing care retirement community. In his mission to improve the aging experience, Grape has served as a disrupter by introducing many industry firsts. Under Grape’s direction, Benchmark has developed Smart Rooms technology to help residents stay connected with each other and with family members, biometric safes to keep medication safe and it partnered with GE for the In Good Company challenge to help drive aging innovation. Grape recently spearheaded a partnership with TSOLife to develop the Benchmark Something in Common program, a digital platform that uses artificial intelligence to pinpoint residents’ interests, match them to community programs and help them build relationships with neighbors. In 2017, Grape worked with Massachusetts state leadership again to address aging within the state when he was tapped to serve on the first Governor’s Council to Address Aging.
QUINTIN A. HARRIS Quintin Harris has spent more than 15 years honing his senior housing and healthcare financial expertise, which has helped him meet the regulatory, regional and market challenges of the industry. As managing director at Lument, Harris leads the firm’s origination efforts for senior housing and healthcare in the Midwest. He also manages the firm’s relationship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facilities loan programs. Since joining Lument’s predecessor Lancaster Pollard in 2005, Harris has worked on more than 150 transactions totaling nearly $1.5 billion across the entire capital platform. In the last three years, he has closed more than 20 transactions totaling $315 million in combined loan amount. Throughout his career, Harris has been recognized for executing specialized financings and advisory solutions on behalf of both nonprofit and for-profit clients and he serves as a regular speaker on capital funding solutions for healthcare providers. Harris recently closed on the new 91-unit senior housing and care campus, Fieldstone of DeWitt, in eastern Iowa, which broke ground in late 2020 with funding derived from a $19.33 million USDA CF direct loan and $2.5 million commercial bank loan. The new community consists of a 70-bed replacement skilled nursing facility. Harris also notably closed a $41.5 million Freddie Mac loan to refinance Hillcrest Country Estates Grand Lodge, an upscale senior living community in Papillion, NE. Prior to his finance career, Harris worked for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in South America, during which he raised funds to build a residential community for indigenous youth attending secondary schools away from home.
TAMMY HAYLOCK-MOORE Known among her industry counterparts as a productive and influential affordable housing banker, Tammy Haylock-Moore’s work is often focused on affordable senior housing due to the Florida market’s large senior population. As executive director for community development banking at JPMorgan Chase, Haylock-Moore manages relationships with developers of affordable housing based in the Southeast. Her vocal advocacy for her clients and their needs has resulted in JPMorgan Chase’s support of projects that may otherwise not have been funded. For example, Haylock-Moore recently worked on a senior housing facility in Miami for which Chase Community Development Banking provided $49 million in funding and leveraged construction debt to redevelop and revitalize the high-rise buildings as apartment homes for seniors on a fixed-income. She also recently worked on the preservation of the Mary Bethune Apartments in Tampa, a 1960’s eight-story senior living building that had never been rehabbed, for which the firm provided $18 million in construction and redevelopment costs. The project involved the direct purchase of tax-exempt bonds, which funded the construction loan for the project. Haylock-Moore additionally works to provide loans for supportive veteran senior housing projects, such as the firm’s Freedom’s Path affordable housing communities. These modern residences, located on VA campuses, provide a supportive environment for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Despite COVID-19-related difficulties, Haylock-Moore successfully exceeded her origination goal by more than 100% in 2020.
KARIM HUTSON Under the leadership of founder Karim Hutson, Genesis Cos. has undertaken a series of projects committed to growing senior housing opportunities. The firm has developed a reputation for turning underutilized or underperforming assets into quality, energy-efficient projects that enhance urban centers while remaining accessible to the residents of these communities. Hutson established the company 17 years ago and he now oversees the firm’s strategic direction as a managing member. He has helped grow the company’s influence as a full-service real estate development firm, focused on affordable and mixed-income housing for seniors, veterans and families. Under Hutson’s leadership, in May 2021, Genesis Cos. completed a 100% affordable residential building in East Orange, NJ, in which all 180 units are dedicated to seniors and adults with disabilities. Shortly after, the firm broke ground on a second project in East Orange that will provide 60 additional residential units for seniors and adults with disabilities. East Orange Mayor Ted R. Green described the project as a model standard for the industry. At a time when housing feels especially precarious for the most vulnerable residents impacted by COVID-19, Hutson has remained committed to keeping urban communities accessible for everyone, including New Jersey’s seniors. Hutson’s prior experience as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs and as a private equity investor at General Atlantic Partners allowed him to develop the investment acumen he now devotes to Genesis Cos.’ financial strategies, including launching a new construction management operation called Genesis Cos.’ VPH Management.
GREGG LOGAN As managing director of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting, Gregg Logan provides advisory work, including market evaluations and strategies, for residential and mixed-use developments. Since joining the firm in 1979, Logan has conducted and supervised real estate consulting assignments throughout the U.S. and abroad, and in the past three years, he has conducted dozens of market studies for senior housing developers in order to assist and inform their development projects. Between 2018 and 2020, he was responsible for bringing in more than 300 client engagements, amounting to more than $3.3 million in billing. In supporting the development of new senior housing projects via market analysis, Logan continues to provide unbiased evaluations highlighting opportunities for new development. As part of his role, Logan also leads the firm’s Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities semi-annual research initiative. Every year since 1994, RCLCO and Logan have conducted a national survey identifying the top-selling master-planned communities through a rigorous search of high-performing communities in each state. In addition, Logan has published articles and has been quoted as an industry expert concerning land-use and development-related issues, and he has spoken for national and regional groups, including ULI and the National Association of Home Builders. Logan has taught Real Estate Development Methods at the Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Architecture, Graduate City Planning Program, and he currently teaches Real Estate Economics at Rollins College Hamilton Holt School in the Masters of Civic Urbanism program.
VINCENT MYERS Vincent Myers is focused on creating affordable assisted and memory care living environments for middle-income and low-income individuals and families that cannot afford expensive private pay access to services. He has built prototype models that can be refined and replicated and developed them in areas with lower development and land costs to capture the middle market, and he has partnered with non-profit developers with similar goals. As president and co-founding member of DIGroup Architecture, Myers has helped forge contracts with national operators and developers, such as Springpoint Senior Living, Affinity Living Group and Phoenix Senior Living. Myers is a recognized leader in educating clients in designing spaces to fit the complex needs of the new aging generation, from independent living residents to those requiring skilled nursing and memory care services. Recently, his efforts have focused on preparing for the design of the next generation of senior facilities within urban areas. In recent years, under Myers’ leadership, DIGroup Architecture has completed numerous designs resulting in finished projects for assisted living and memory residences with four different major operators across various states. Myers has also pioneered innovations, such as mini senior living campuses that can expand beyond assisted living and memory care to include independent living cottages with amenities to attract younger senior residents. In response to pandemic-related isolation at senior communities, Myers developed a white paper on the development and merits of a protected visitor suite that would serve as a safe platform for resident/visitor interaction. The visitor center featured direct access from the exterior, a screening area and a family suite where loved ones could be safely reunited.
DANETTE OPACZEWSKI With more than 31 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Danette Opaczewski believes the senior living industry can learn from boutique hotels. Upon joining Revel Communities in January 2020, Opaczewski now serves as chief operating officer, where she is responsible for the operations and financial performance of the brand. To elevate the brand and break the stigma that seniors are elderly, Opaczewski strives to provide residents with engaging and active opportunities from social gatherings to art classes and exercise. She has pioneered an anti-ageist philosophy that focuses on viewing people for who they are and how they want to live, and not solely on their healthcare needs. Opaczewski envisions technology as the key to unlocking a new world for senior living and has initiated tech-forward operations at Revel Communities to bring that vision to fruition. Last year, the company installed Facebook Portals to foster a connection between two WWII veterans who have since built a friendship despite the distance. In addition, under her direction, the company installed The Mirror in its communities as a tech-forward and personalized fitness offering for residents. Opaczewski pursues non-traditional offerings, including a ‘snowbird’ program that allows residents to explore new areas and stay in fully-furnished apartments for several months in seasonal locations while keeping their home base at another Revel Communities location. As a hospitality veteran who worked through the aftermath of 9/11 in New York City, Opaczewski perceived the challenges of COVID-19 as different but not impossible to overcome. She successfully learned how to contain the virus in a community setting, implemented communication strategies and combatted isolation. Opaczewski currently sits on the executive board for the American Senior Housing Association.
KIMBERLY E. SCHLANGER Kimberly Schlanger joined Gibson Dunn in its Houston office in 2019. As the first real estate partner beyond the firm’s New York and California hubs, Schlanger has played a key role in expanding Gibson Dunn’s national footprint of transactional practitioners. After several years of representing primarily Hines on ground-up development projects across all asset classes, Schlanger has expanded her practice to now represents investors, capital partners and developers on both development and acquisition transactions, with a particular emphasis on the senior housing sector. As a result of her success in advising Welltower, a REIT in the assisted living and skilled nursing facility sector, Schlanger has been tapped by numerous other firms to help them navigate challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been particularly focused on helping large real estate holders mitigate risk through the re-capitalization of existing assets with debt and equity in order to free up liquidity for new investments. In the early months of COVID-19, Schlanger represented Welltower in the sale of two major real estate portfolios for more than $1 billion, including seven senior housing facilities and 27 medical office buildings across 15 states. She also represented Welltower in the $1.58 billion acquisition of an 86-property senior housing portfolio. During the pandemic, Schlanger organized major deals to transfer risk away from clients and pivoted her practice to adapt to the situation. Her actions not only improved stability but also provided a platform for her clients to strategically advance.
NICK STAHLER Nick Stahler, first VP of investments at Marcus & Millichap, specializes in acquisitions, dispositions, debt and equity placement and valuation services. With 15 years of industry experience, Stahler provides support for his team and ensures agents meet the needs of clients. Stahler and his team have more than 150 years of combined experience in investment sales, lending, appraisals, market analysis, distressed disposition and portfolio sales. To date, the team has assisted clients with more than $5 billion in sales and lending transactions, and it is on track for more than 25 closings this year. Particularly proud of how his team met the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by working together, communicating and continuing to provide top-of-line service to clients, Stahler believes that the pandemic served as a learning experience and pushed his team to strengthen relationships with clients. In 2019, Stahler notably oversaw all aspects of one of the largest single-asset senior housing transactions of the year at $95.5 million. He is an active member in numerous senior healthcare organizations nationally, and he is additionally a founding member of the Patriotic Service Dog Foundation, which provides service dogs to veterans and first responders suffering from PTSD and other disabilities, free of charge.
ARON WILL Before Aron Will founded CBRE’s senior housing debt practice 15 years ago, he believed that the concept of mortgage banking in the sector did not exist. Building on CBRE’s mortgage banking finance capabilities, investment sales experience and relationships with early institutional investors, Will launched the firm’s finance practice. By 2014, it had grown into the largest practice in the sector. As vice chairman and a senior leader of CBRE’s senior housing capital markets team, Will focuses on the entire senior spectrum from active adult to skilled nursing and post-acute care, with a particular focus on private pay independent living, assisted living and memory care. Since 2014, the team has completed more than $17 billion of transactional volume in the sector and it has maintained a top market share, particularly in the debt portion of the business. Throughout the past three years, Will’s team has completed more than $3.5 billion in debt originations. Separately, Will holds a passion for attracting the next generation of talent to the sector, particularly on the operating side. In 2013, he assisted in spearheading a university internship program focused on placing graduates into senior housing roles. The program has grown to eight universities and more than 20 participating companies, including REITs, private equity firms, developers, operators and lenders. Dozens of participants have risen through the ranks to take C-suite positions at senior housing companies, such as Welltower, Belmont Village Senior Living and Wells Fargo.
TEAMS
BRIDGE SENIORS HOUSING & MEDICAL PROPERTIES Bridge Seniors Housing & Medical Properties has made an impact on the sector in numerous ways due to its vertically-integrated, high-touch management approach. The firm has $4.5 million in assets under management with 98 facilities and 11,600 units, making it among the nation’s largest owners of senior housing units. Founded in 2013, Bridge Investment Group’s senior housing team focuses on a community-centric investment approach and seeks to acquire assets that will benefit from incremental capital investment and marketing, asset repositioning and value-add opportunities. The firm’s in-house operator, Bridge Senior Living, employs 3,200 frontline professionals and directly manages 31% of Bridge’s communities. Recognizing that caring for residents means investing in their physical, emotional and spiritual lives, the team aims to provide comprehensive amenities, fine-dining experiences and meaningful activities to keep residents engaged and entertained. The team also provides in-house pharmacies, on-site physicians and therapists, along with telehealth and transportation services at its properties. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team effectively deployed PPE and test kits and implemented resident and family engagement technology in all of its senior living communities. At the peak of the pandemic, only 1.5% of Bridge Seniors Housing’s more than 10,000 residents were affected by COVID-19 and nearly all residents were vaccinated by the end of Q1 2021. In addition, the team has been a longtime supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association. In 2020, the team raised more than $19,000 for the fight against Alzheimer’s.
CAPITAL ONE HEALTHCARE REAL ESTATE The Capital One healthcare real estate team provides financing in the senior housing space for independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. The team provides financing for acquisitions, refinancings, agency loans and a limited amount of new construction and repositionings. Founded in 2006, the team includes managing director Chris Taylor, SVPs Dave Harper, Mark Bultman, Dague Retzlaff, Kevin Michel, director Katie Jaco and executive assistant Teresa Martin. The healthcare team has been a consistent source of balance sheet capital in senior housing for more than 15 years. In recent years, the team has been bullish on independent living, assisted living and memory care, while on the skilled nursing front, it has been selective in its balance sheet approach and it continues to look for HUD financing opportunities. As senior housing is an operating platform as well as a real estate asset, the team works with operators who have a similar approach to risk, who are resilient and who have a strong track record of success in their specific market. In 2020, Capital One Healthcare was recognized as the top Freddie Mac senior housing lender, despite the pandemic. In 2019 and 2018, Capital One Healthcare was recognized by Fannie Mae as a top two senior housing lender and a top three senior housing lender, accordingly. Before joining Capital One Healthcare in 2015, the team worked as part of GE Capital’s healthcare financial service lending business.
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD’S SENIOR HOUSING CAPITAL MARKETS GROUP Cushman & Wakefield’s senior housing capital markets group is a leading intermediary for the senior housing sector both in the U.S. and the U.K.; interacting daily with major owners, operators, investors and lenders in the space. Comprising 14 team members, the group is led by vice-chairman Richard Swartz, executive managing director Jay Wagner and executive director Aaron Rosenzweig. In 2011, Swartz and Wagner launched the senior housing initiative with the mission to bring a sophisticated capital markets approach to the maturing senior housing industry. The group’s professionals hold expertise in areas from active adult to skilled nursing. The team has handled more than 250 senior housing transactions, totaling $9 billion in volume, since its inception. During the past three years, this team has placed more than $1 billion in debt encompassing acquisition and construction financings as well as re-financings, including 11 construction loans with aggregate proceeds totaling more than $362 million. The team notably has a 100% success rate for construction debt placed during the pandemic. With respect to capital procurement, the team has raised more than $3.7 billion of debt financing and more than $700 million of joint-venture equity since 2012. The team has introduced large investors to their first senior housing investments and regularly advises clients on geographic market trends, product design and programming, operator competencies and financial metrics. The team’s principals serve as thought-leaders in the space. They regularly speak at conferences and webinars and contribute written pieces for various publications.
GREYSTAR ACTIVE ADULT TEAM During the past five years, Greystar has grown its active adult portfolio from the ground up to include 59 operating communities, encompassing 11,343 units, with 14 more communities in the pipeline. The firm has found success in the sector due to its commitment to the product type and ability to continually tweak its services, such as creating a new product offering for the demographic that is not yet ready to be in independent or assisted living but is looking for both a lifestyle and a home. Greystar active adult is led by executive real estate director Jackie Rhone, a 20-year Greystar veteran, who began leading the team in 2019. In two years, Rhone has assembled a strong team that navigates everything from the pre-leasing process through stabilization. The team has increased its leases from an average of 5.4 leases per month to an average of 10.2 leases per month in 2021. Though the beginning of the pandemic was an adjustment for the firm’s residents and potential residents with the absence of in-person tours, events and amenities, such as continental breakfasts and fitness centers, the team worked on new ways to keep everyone engaged, including creating a new email marketing tool to enhance communication, building a resident YouTube channel in place of in-person group activities, and launching social media campaigns and contests to showcase how residents were adapting and to allow family members to see their loved ones thriving. Greystar’s active adult team participates in various philanthropic endeavors and it also started its own committee to drive community service and further reach community members.
JLL SENIORS HOUSING JLL seniors housing is focused not only on maximizing value through investment sales and debt capital markets but also through working with senior housing clients in areas of investment banking, discretionary fundraising, valuation services and operations consulting. Founded in 2019, the team includes senior managing director Ted Flagg, managing directors Cody Tremper, Mike Garbers, Charles Bissell and Allison Holland, and senior director Joel Mendes. The JLL team provides investment sales advisory from single assets to 50-asset portfolios for public REIT and private clients. The dedicated senior housing debt placement advisors drive price and terms on primary and secondary market stabilized and construction projects. JLL seniors housing works with other business lines to provide the full spectrum of services to its clients. It collaborates with the firm’s valuation services team to provide ongoing quarterly appraisals and buy-side diligence advisory and it works with the firm’s consulting group that improves margins and builds out corporate earnings models. The team has completed $4 billion in investment sales and $3.4 billion in debt placement since 2019. As the pandemic slowed the team’s investment sales business, it shifted its focus to debt placement, lease restructuring and capital raising for distress investing. The team is now marketing or in closing on more than $1 billion of senior housing debt and separately mandated to raise more than $1 billion of equity capital for an institutional investor targeting distressed senior housing.
ORGANIZATIONS
ANTHOLOGY SENIOR LIVING Anthology Senior Living, founded in 2014, develops, owns and operates senior living communities across the U.S. Specializing in independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, the company operates a portfolio of 41 communities — 24 of which were developed from the ground up — and it plans to start construction on six additional projects this year. Led by president Ben Burke, Anthology Senior Living leverages deep expertise with team members that collaborate across construction, clinical, marketing and programming departments to design each new community. The firm’s communities are built with high-end tech infrastructure and have adopted technology traditionally used in the high-end multifamily space. The company strives to provide an engaging environment with opportunities for social interaction, high-quality food, amenities and activities along with quality healthcare. More than 40% of each community is dedicated to amenity spaces, including bistros, gyms, theaters and salons. Each community offers 24/7 nursing and certified caregivers at ratios above state requirements, and the company additionally brings in physicians, therapists and trainers on demand. During the pandemic, Anthology Senior Living implemented COVID-19 safety measures and offered free on-site testing available for residents and team members. To foster resident engagement, the company ordered Amazon Echo Dots for residents to facilitate community-wide games, trivia and announcements, and it launched a pen pal program across its communities to provide residents with personalized letters and drawings in an effort to create connections and a sense of togetherness despite isolations and lockdowns.
AU SENIOR PROPERTIES Alan Ursillo founded the consulting company, Au Senior Properties in 2016 to help developers locate sites, form partnerships with operators and assist with entitlements and capital requirements. The company executes consulting assignments from developers, owners, operators and capital providers for development and building opportunities. While providing expertise on building and renovating senior housing communities, the company recently completed construction of a $30 million senior housing community for Wellquest on time and on budget and it recently began renovations for Medcore, Welltower and CareTrust on additional senior housing communities. In recent years, the company has collaborated with major developers to generate operator relationships, entitle land for new senior housing communities and help select the right capital partners. With 17 years of experience in the senior housing market, Ursillo currently leads Au Senior Properties as president and he additionally serves as a consultant for Consolidated Contracting. In collaboration with Consolidated Contracting, Ursillo created the subsidiary, Consolidated Building Health, during the pandemic, which aims to create healthier senior communities by working with engineers, environmental hygienists, architects and interior designers. Consolidated Building Health evaluates proposed or existing communities for health safety, suggests exterior and interior design concepts and helps to implement suggested changes, before giving the community a rating based on a comprehensive scorecard.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency’s mission is to advance housing priorities in Washington D.C. and to serve the district’s most vulnerable populations, including senior citizens. DCHFA has sought to make unique programs and communities where seniors can age in place and maintain their status as D.C. residents and homeowners. Established in 1979, the agency is an instrumentality of the District of Columbia’s government; serving as a financial intermediary and administrator of affordable housing programs and resources for the district. Led by CEO and executive director Christopher Donald, DCHFA finances essential communities, allowing seniors to age in place at an affordable cost. Communities like Livingston Place at Southern Ave. and The Residences at Kenilworth Park — two newly-developed senior assisted living projects financed by DCHFA — provide seniors with the assistance they need while allowing them to live in an active community of peers. At such communities, residents receive meals, personal care services, transportation services and have access to support services including medical, dental, rehabilitative and counseling services, as well as 24-hour supervision to ensure resident safety. Residents additionally receive assistance with daily living activities, such as eating, bathing, toileting, grooming, dressing and mobility. The communities also offer amenities such as libraries, theaters, fitness centers, hair salons and transportation to off-site activities. DCHFA also finances properties that are reserved for seniors who do not need assistance with daily living but could benefit from the affordability component.
KT URBAN Transformative suburban, urban and downtown development projects are the focus of real estate, development and investment firm KT Urban. Based in Cupertino, CA and founded in 1988, the company is led by president Ken Tersini, principal Mark Tersini and partner Shawn Milligan. The firm leverages its experienced management team and strong financial network to acquire and develop projects in the greater San Francisco Bay area and beyond. With a track record for delivering superior results, KT Urban has worked on numerous senior housing projects in Cupertino, CA and it recently submitted plans for a transit-oriented, mixed-use project in downtown San Jose. The firm continues to focus on creating new opportunities to activate the downtown area. KT Urban recently announced a partnership with the Pacific Cos. to develop a rental housing development specifically for low-income seniors. The partnership aims to convey the idea that developers can deliver high-quality housing options to seniors.
LIVINGSTON STREET CAPITAL With nearly 72 million Baby Boomers approaching retirement age, Livingston Street Capital identified potential in the senior housing market and has worked quickly to establish itself as a leader in the active adult/independent investment and operations space. In less than three years, the company has built a $400 million portfolio of nine communities, totaling more than 1,500 units throughout the U.S. Led by co-founders and co-CEOs, Peter Scola and Joseph L. Fox, the firm’s strategy to invest solely in active adult and independent living communities allows it to focus on community and resident wellbeing with activities and social programs. The firm’s properties typically consist of 100 to 300 units and offer a diverse range of floorplan sizes that fit the varying needs of today’s 55+ residents. By focusing on location and offering comprehensive wellness programs, Livingston Street Capital continues to shape the definition of senior housing and influence what it means to age in America for those who want a dynamic and autonomous lifestyle. The firm offers community programming that covers spirituality, education and creativity, with offerings including art and culinary classes, assistance with managing assets, financial and legal affairs, in-person and online learning, guided meditations and religious services. The company’s focus on senior housing dovetails well with its overall strategy of building a defensive core and core-plus portfolio serving the fundamental needs of consumers.
MAPLEWOOD SENIOR LIVING Each of Maplewood Senior Living’s communities is designed not only to care for residents but to inspire them to stay active, engaged and healthy. The communities are crafted to blend seamlessly into the local community to make it easier for residents to transition into senior living. Based in Westport, CT, the company is led by president and CEO Gregory D. Smith, who founded the company in 2005. Maplewood Senior Living owns and operates 16 upscale senior living communities throughout the Northeast and Midwest. The company launched its new luxury senior living brand, Inspir, to offer a luxurious option for seniors looking to join a residential community in major metropolitan areas, and it will offer a variety of care options including assisted living, memory care and enhanced care while allowing seniors to continue living active and independent lives with access to arts, culture and fine dining. The brand recently debuted its flagship residence, Inspir Carnegie Hill in Manhattan. As the company’s first New Jersey community, Maplewood at Princeton is notable for its partnership with Penn Medicine – Princeton Health, a leading teaching hospital. This partnership and the community’s on-campus location will allow for advanced medical care for Maplewood’s residents, without having to sacrifice a personal touch. The project was delayed by the pandemic and the company used this time to expedite several technological and safety initiatives, including photohydroionization systems, enhanced HVAC filtration, ultraviolet light sanitizers for infection control and deep cleaning, and more.
OPPIDAN Joe Ryan founded Oppidan in 1991 and has since built it into a national real estate development firm, based on a philosophy of delivering value. Laser-focused on the senior housing sector, Oppidan pivoted its attention to safety within its communities during the pandemic; implementing separate entrances for employees, upgraded ventilation technology and touchless faucets. The firm opened two of its largest senior housing communities during the pandemic: The Pillars of Prospect Park, an $83 million, 343,008-square-foot community that includes intergenerational programming, and The Watermark of Napa Valley, a 195,000-square-foot community that offers independent, assisted living and memory care programming. During this time, the firm also began construction on The Pillars of Grand Rapids, a 140,000-square-foot senior housing community adjacent to an area hospital to create a unique healthcare hub. Oppidan currently has three additional projects in its pipeline, which will expand its portfolio to 14 senior housing communities. Involved in its communities beyond bricks and mortar, Oppidan created the Pillar’s Fund, which is used for memory care programming to enrich the lives of residents. The fund allows seniors to experience resident programs that they would not normally have had access to, such as interactive music therapy, art programs, yoga and creative storytelling. Within its communities, Oppidan also offers virtual reality programming and often offers intergenerational programming, which provides meaningful opportunities for “grand-friends” who live in the community, to engage with children who attend the on-site childcare program.
PMB Founded in 1971, PMB was built to navigate the ebbs and flows of healthcare real estate. Supporting healthcare providers, the company leverages its financial and development resources to execute long-term real estate strategies through data-driven analytics in order to develop facilities with optimal services for the community. PMB’s development team serves as the long-term owner of its senior living facilities. Supporting all aspects of its communities, the team works with operator, GenCare Lifestyle, on operations, marketing, leasing and safety protocols. In the past three years, PMB has developed nearly 20 projects, comprising more than 1.5 million square feet. Its projects have been honored with various awards throughout the years. Aiming to offer an innovative, highly-accessible and coordinated approach to health and wellness, PMB conceived a new model called GenCare Whole Life Connect, which shifts traditional patient-centered healthcare to a resident-centered wellness construct. The model includes the MultiCare Health System, which provides a concierge experience and coordinates deep resources, DispatchHealth, for which emergency-trained medical teams deliver urgent care in the home at a lower cost to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, hospital stays and readmissions, and Olympic Sports & Spine to help keep residents moving after the surgery and related physical therapy. Focusing on finding the right fit with operators to deliver best-in-class facilities, PMB continues to pursue additional senior living opportunities.
SWENSON For more than 100 years, the Swenson family has been a dynamic partner in building out Northern California. The firm, which is led by president and CEO Case Swenson, is involved in multiple senior housing projects and is dedicated to bringing much-needed quality senior care to areas with a severe shortage in quality options. SWENSON brings four generations of expertise, along with a proven design-develop-build platform, to deliver creative, quality developments and efficient construction practices. As a respected player in the sector, the company offers a wide range of real estate services. In recent years, the firm launched the construction of Holden of San Jose Senior Memory Care, announced plans for MorningStar Assisted Living & Memory Care of San Jose, and completed construction of Sonnet Hill Senior Living in San Jose. Separately, SWENSON created the nonprofit organization Swenson Foundation in order to serve low-income, underserved and at-risk local populations. The foundation’s mission is to build and strengthen the community and bring people together who want to make a difference in the world by educating children.
THE ARKER COS. The Arker Cos. is dedicated to developing communities in lesser-known parts of New York City. Founded in 1949, the company has a long history of providing housing and resources to overlooked communities, including affordable senior housing in the city. The company’s portfolio includes 100% senior buildings and senior set-asides within large-scale developments. The company is focused on providing a place to live with pride and comfort, rather than as a last resort, and it strives to ensure that aging adults on a fixed income can continue to live comfortably at home and age in place with dignity. This year, the Arker Cos. will open two sister buildings in Brooklyn for seniors in partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Jewish Association Serving the Aging. The first development, Debevoise Senior Housing, is an eight-story property with 65 housing units specifically designated for seniors. The second building, located at 64 Scholes St., will also offer 65 senior housing units.
