MESA, AZ-Emeritus Senior Living has expanded its presence in the Phoenix metro area with the purchase of Cypress Court, a 126-unit, 145-bed assisted living and memory care property here. The publicly-traded seniors housing operator acquired the 81,995-square foot property for $12.9 million from an Indiana-based nonprofit organization.

Emeritus, which owns 12 seniors housing facilities in the Valley plus another four properties in Tucson, was one of five buyers interested in Cypress Court, according to Mark Myers, a senior vice president of investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago office. He and Joshua Jandris, a senior housing properties specialist, also located in the firm’s Chicago office, represented the seller. David Guido, regional manager of the firm’s Phoenix office, also provided representation.

“There’s a lot of interest in seniors housing properties in Phoenix because of the growing population and increasing demand,” Myers tells GlobeSt.com. “Even though Phoenix is a competitive market, operators would rather be in a competitive growth market than in a market with less demand.”