IRA Capital Enters Senior Housing Market with $106M Purchase
The firm acquired Assisted Living and Memory Care facilities totaling 160 units in the Northern California cities of Dublin and Novato.
IRA Capital has entered the senior housing market with the acquisition of two senior housing properties in Northern California for $106.5 million. Operated by Elegance Senior Living, the Assisted Living and Memory Care facilities total 160 units and are located in the Northern California cities of Dublin and Novato.
The purchases are part of the firm’s strategy to diversify its healthcare investments. It plans to continue to expand its market exposure to senior living assets this year, and will focus on high-barrier-to-entry markets in the West Coast, allocating $1 billion to purchase senior living assets over the next few years. This adds to the company’s already aggressive healthcare strategy, which has seen the firm close $750 million in acquisitions in the last 90 days.
The firm’s co-founder Jay Gangwal called IRA’s foray into senior housing consistent with its pursuit of “best-in-class assets that drive long-term growth for our investors, while providing quality services for the community.” IRA has tapped Azhar Jameeli as VP of Investments to lead its senior housing strategy.
The two Elegance Senior Living properties in Northern California are class-A facilities with resort-style amenities and expert care. Both Elegance Hamilton Hill in Novato and Elegance at Dublin are 80-unit communities near shopping centers and restaurants and medical facilities.
Senior housing has struggled through the pandemic, but the assets have already shown signs of recovery. The quarterly report from Moody’s Analytics’ Q3 2021 National Seniors Housing Quarterly View said it is “happy to pronounce that the market recovery has been sustained and is accelerating” spurred by the solid 130 bps vacancy decline, which marked the highest quarterly drop in nearly a decade.
However, the sector is continuing to adapt to new challenges from the pandemic. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service report stated that more than 86% of the nursing home residents and over 73% of staff are fully vaccinated nationwide. Confirmed Covid cases and deaths in Q3 2021 were higher than Q2 due to the surge of Delta variant, but the magnitude was nowhere near the peak of the previous waves.
Despite these challenges, Jameeli said, “There lies huge opportunity ahead given the significant demand drivers.”