Bridge Investment, StepStone Announce Seniors Housing Venture
Firms combine for a $75 million fund for needs-based seniors housing.
Bridge Investment Group Holdings has launched a $75 million program to acquire, develop, and operate needs-based senior housing assets within the United States.
As part of the venture, StepStone Real Estate (SRE) co-invested in an existing portfolio managed by Bridge and intends to help build the platform by co-investing in other senior housing assets identified by Bridge in the future.
“Bridge’s partnership with StepStone represents a strategic milestone as we continue to expand our needs-based seniors housing strategy,” Robb Chapin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer for Bridge’s Seniors Housing vertical, said in prepared remarks.
Seniors Housing Ongoing Struggles
Senior housing has struggled during the pandemic with vacancies and higher operating costs but those issues are becoming less concerning. Kevin Fagan, head of CRE Analytics at Moody’s Investor Services, for instance, said recently at a GlobeSt event, “One rather ‘macabre’ finding is that vacancy rates in senior housing have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there was “a solid, consistent improvement” in 2021.
Yet it is clear that the sector is still having trouble.
A flurry of bankruptcy filings from senior-focused health care facilities has shaped the US economic distress in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the newest Polsinelli-TrBK Distress Indices Report.
These health care facilities are dealing with decreased patient census, increased operating costs, and significant pressure on staffing and labor costs.