DALLAS-Commercial real estate private equity investment firm MedProperties has teamed up with the LaSalle Group Inc., a developer and manager of senior housing projects, to develop Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak in San Antonio. Construction is underway on the 46-bed, 27,000-square-foot memory care facility on Stone Oak Parkway, east of Canyon Golf and Evans Roads. Upon completion in approximately one year, LaSalle Group will handle operations.
Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak is the first time locally based MedProperties and LaSalle Group have teamed on a project, but likely won't be the last. Darryl E. Freling, MedProperties managing principal, says his company is a programmatic source of equity investment to specialized developers of healthcare real estate. And you can't get a whole lot more specialized than healthcare developments that have a higher acuity service – such as a memory care project targeted to senior citizens.
"We were introduced to LaSalle Group through a mutual relationship," Freling tells GlobeSt.com. "They have a great track record of developing and operating senior centers – especially centers dealing with memory care." He adds that LaSalle Group has more projects on the drawing board, and MedProperties will have a hand in financing some of them.
Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak is also the first investment of MedProperties' just-launched $150 million discretionary fund MedProperties Investment Partners LP. The fund is dedicated toward a diversified mix of multitenant medical office buildings, single-tenant specialty healthcare facilities and selective investment in high-acuity senior housing projects – of which Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak is one. Frost Bank is providing construction financing to the project.
Freling points out the appeal of senior care centers from an equity investment standpoint. For one thing, the higher the continuum of care involved with senior housing, the higher the barriers to entry. "The lower the barriers to entry, the more risk there is of overbuilding," Freling observes. "We want to focus on areas that require higher degrees of specialization and acuity."
Then there are the demographics. Anyone who has been paying attention understands that the population in America is growing older. Freling says that as the housing market begins to improve and seniors can more easily sell their homes, the demand for senior-oriented housing space will continue to rise. "Senior housing is falling within the broader proposition that the aging of America is driving the needs for services and healthcare real estate dedicated to that demographic," Freling adds.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
