Greystone Provides $140M for Arizona Senior Housing Project

CRE finance company Greystone has provided $140 million in debt to finance Maravilla Scottsdale, a senior housing project in Scottsdale, Arizona. The funds from the loan will both recapitalize the project and fund new construction. Developer Senior Resource Group secured the financing.

Maravilla Scottsdale is a 217-unit senior living facility with independent living, assisted living and memory care programs. The first phase of the project opened in 2012. Phase II will bring another 193 units to the property, nearly doubling its size, with delivery schedule for in mid-2023. Located on 11 acres, the property will overlook the TPC Scottsdale Golf Course.

Senior housing properties were destabilized during the pandemic, but a recent report from Marcus & Millichap finds that a mix of near-term challenges with long-term potential could make the seniors housing and skilled nursing sectors investor favorites. Third quarter data from 2021 showed that seniors housing move-ins are rising as more residents become vaccinated, with occupancy rising in both segments from July through September. Rents are also up annually by more than 1% across all four levels of care, led by memory care and assisted living. Skilled nursing’s recovery was a bit more muted, with occupancy at 76.2% in November, down 1,000 basis points over 2019 numbers. But nationally, the average daily rate has increased or held firm in every quarter for more than a decade. Greystone says that the property’s expansion is reflective of substantial market demand.

However, the industry is still feeling the effects of the pandemic. A number of bankruptcy filings from senior-focused health care facilities has shaped the US economic distress in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Polsinelli-TrBK Distress Indices Report. The report illustrates how senior living-focused organizations, independent/assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities represent a significant portion of the health care bankruptcy filings as health care begins its return to pre-pandemic numbers. These health care facilities are dealing with decreased patient census, increased operating costs, and significant pressure on staffing and labor costs.

Greystone’s senior housing capital markets team, led by Cary Tremper and Matt Miller, arranged the financing from a national bank on behalf of the developer.