HOUSTON– The Solana at Cinco Ranch, a 184-unit assisted living and memory care facility in Katy, Texas, sold to American Realty Capital for $71.25 million.

The property located adjacent to the Grand Parkway in Cinco Ranch, a master planned community in Katy, is currently 98% occupied property. After a recently completed expansion adding an assisted living and memory care wing, the community now includes 126 independent living, 38 assisted living and 20 memory care units.

Located on the west side of Houston, Cinco Ranch, an 8,100-acre project, is one of top ranked communities in the nation for single-family home sales, according to a new study released this week.

Cinco Ranch ranks No. 1 in Texas and No. 3 in the United States for new-home sales in 2013, according to preliminary sales results just released by John Burns Real Estate Consulting Co., which compiles an annual list of the nation's top 20 master-planned communities. Home builders in Cinco Ranch sold 854 new homes in 2013, Burns reported.

Many seniors housing developers have recognized that demand is high for seniors projects located in suburban communities with strong new-home sales activity.

“The Solana at Cinco Ranch is one of the premier seniors housing facilities in the marketplace due to its impressive amenities and high-end finishes along with its strong historical occupancy and rental rate growth,” according to HFF.                  

The buyer, American Realty Capital, has recently taken an interest in the seniors housing market and has plans for additional acquisitions in the coming year, HFF reported.

Ryan Maconachy and Chad Lavendar of HFF represented the seller, Formation Development Group, LLC and affiliates of The Carlyle Group, Inc.

The Cinco Ranch master-planned community is owned in a joint venture partnership between North America Sekisui House, LLC (NASH) the U.S. business unit and full subsidiary of Sekisui House, Ltd, Japan's largest homebuilder and leading diversified developer, and Newland Real Estate Group, LLC, whose development business, Newland Communities, is the master developer of Cinco Ranch.