Each facility will have 63 assisted living units, 12-bed memory care centers and five townhouses that range from 1,453 sf to 2,909 sf. The Clovis project, representing $8.5 million of the loan, will go up at the intersection of North Prince Street and State Highway 209. The Hobbs project will be built in the 3500 block of North Central Avenue. The 12-acre development sites are located close to the Texas-New Mexico border.

In addition to its current loan, the Salem, OR-based Sunwest recently obtained $9 million in construction financing from PlainsCapital to expand Cottage Village, a 40-unit senior housing facility in Lubbock, TX. "Because they had a presence in Lubbock, which is pretty close to Clovis and Hobbs, the lender knew the borrower was familiar with the area," says Robby Rieke, real estate analyst with Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP's Dallas office. He and HFF managing director Mona Carlton arranged the financing.

Rieke tells GlobeSt.com that the financing is a 12-month variable rate over prime rate with a pair of one-year options to extend. "It's a pure construction loan," he adds. "The borrowers will likely plan a refinance in about 18 months."