Cash-Strapped Counties Increasingly Look to Sell Government-Owned Seniors Housing Facilities
	U.S. Developers Eye Tempting Opportunities in China
	Mainstreet’s Development Pipeline Heats Up in Hoosier State
	Gay and Lesbian Retirement Community Now Under Construction in Sonoma Wine Country

Long-term care facilities owned by county governments have emerged lately as a small, but potentially profitable, investment niche. Private companies are buying the mostly rural projects from local governments that don’t have the funds or know-how to fix outdated buildings with money-losing operations.

Chicago-based Evans Senior Investments recently brokered the sale of a continuing care retirement community in South Carolina for $11.3 million, or about $51,000 per bed/unit. The buyer is Madison Healthcare Management. Prestige Healthcare, based in Louisville, will operate the property.

“The county had a good facility, and they felt it was time to put it into the management of a company that does this full time,” says Bob Norcross, CEO at Prestige Healthcare. “It seems to be a very good fit between the county and us.”

It’s no wonder U.S. seniors housing companies are eager to do business in China, a market with potentially rich rewards and some high risks. The number of persons age 60 and over in China will exceed the entire population of the United States by the year 2050.

“The size of the market and the degree of opportunity in China takes your breath away,” says Robert Kramer, president of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) based in Annapolis, Md. “But success will not be easily accomplished.”

Real estate investment firm Mainstreet has completed construction of a 138-unit senior campus in Lawrenceburg, Ind., and has broken ground on two other projects in Valparaiso and Marion.

The Lawrenceburg facility, RidgeWood Health Campus, is operated by Trilogy Health Systems. The newly opened development provides seniors an option of independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer’s care or skilled nursing. The $12 million project, located next to the Dearborn County Hospital, is expected to generate more than 150 jobs in the community, according to Mainstreet.

“The Lawrenceburg facility had significant pre-leasing activity even before officially opening — a clear indication of the pent-up demand that exists in the local market,” says Zeke Turner, chairman and CEO of Mainstreet, which is based in Cicero, Ind.

Construction has begun on Fountaingrove Lodge, the nation’s first five-star continuing care retirement community for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people. The 10-acre site is in Sonoma County, Calif., north of San Francisco.

“Fountaingrove Lodge is a dream that has been several years in the making and reflects our desire to provide fine retirement living opportunities for a broad range of seniors,” says Bill Gallaher, founder and principal of Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Oakmont Senior Living. He and his wife Cindy developed the concept.

“We are excited because where other LGBT retirement projects have stalled or failed, Fountaingrove is a reality,” he added. “Of the more than 30 retirement communities we’ve developed, this latest project will fill a void that has existed for far too long, and we are proud to lead the way on this front.”