US: Real estate investment firm Bridge Investment Group Holdings and global private markets investment firm StepStone Real Estate have partnered on a $75 million scheme to develop and operate senior living communities.
According to John Waters, StepStone Real Estate head of investments and partner, the two companies have already partnered on two of these communities, with future plans to co-invest in other opportunities to grow both platforms.
Waters said: “The pandemic introduced a lot of challenges specific to the sector but the long-term demographic trends and fundamentals are still there.”
He also anticipates more opportunities at reasonable values as the market recovers.
Bridge is an integrated platform, as the investment manager also operates Bridge Senior Living, founded in 2019 after acquiring Somerby Senior Living.
Bridge went public last year, with its portfolio including 100 senior living communities across 30 states, under management of $4.5 billion with senior housing assets. The company invests in an array of properties, ranging from multifamily to logistics.
Before the pandemic in early 2020, Chapin expressed the need for senior living owners and operators to innovate and produce different products, instead of solely relying on demographics to increase business success. He said: “I think relying on the demographic imperative for the success of our business is a recipe for failure, ultimately. Pushing the threshold of delivering the very best quality of life to our senior population is really at the core of how we think about success.”
