NEW YORK — The real estate team at H2C Securities Inc. (“H2C”), a healthcare-focused strategic advisory and investment banking firm, served as the exclusive advisor to a privately held joint venture between Arbah Capital, Madison Marquette, and Meridian Senior Living (“Meridian”) that is developing a 127-unit, 116,228-square-foot assisted living (“AL”) and memory care (“MC”) community in Punta Gorda Isles, Fla., to be known as ”The Meridian at Punta Gorda Isles” (the “Project” or “Community”).

 

Vice President Matthew Tarpley and Senior Associate Mitch Levine led the transaction for H2C.

 

The Project will be developed by Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette, a leading real estate developer that focuses on seniors housing and healthcare assets, with groundbreaking planned for August. The developer and its operating partner, Meridian, worked through a rigorous four-year entitlement and zoning process before being awarded the ability to develop the Project. Completion is scheduled for early Q4 2022. The Project represents the second development between Madison Marquette and Meridian and follows the construction of The Meridian at Brandon, which is expected to open in September.

 

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Meridian operates over 75 senior living communities throughout the United States, managing over 7,000 licensed beds across the senior living care acuity spectrum. The Punta Gorda Isles Community, Meridian’s 14th community in Florida, is geographically situated in a core market for Meridian and will further bolster its reach within the state.

 

The state-of-the-art, three-story Community will feature 95 AL units and 32 MC units. Amenities will include multiple dining options, a private dining room, library, three lounges, offices, walking paths, and an activity room to help support social and recreational activities. The Community lies in a supply constrained, coastal residential neighborhood where there have been no AL/MC communities built in the market over the past five years.

 

"Madison Marquette is very excited to continue its expansion into the senior living space, with our new development in Punta Gorda Isles, Florida,” said Glen Perkins, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Healthcare, Madison Marquette. “This project is the result of the successful collaboration with our investment partners, operator, and H2C’s ability to secure financing that will ensure the Project’s success. We believe in serving the senior community with a sense of stewardship and care. This simple process, coupled with its successful implementation, always yields positive results.”

 

“We’re proud and excited to finally begin construction in Punta Gorda Isles. We’ve spent several years thoughtfully designing a community that will give the citizens of Punta Gorda and the surrounding areas a vibrant, premier senior living option helping to maintain independence and inspiring activity.  Without the dedicated efforts from our partners, and H2C to locate and secure funding, this project would not be possible. We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to serving a growing population of young-at-heart seniors who may need extra assistance or dignified dementia care,” said Dan Castleberry, Chief Investment Officer of Meridian Senior Living.

 

In addition to the financing launching during a period when senior living communities were most vulnerable to COVID-19, the financing was required to be Shariah-compliant. H2C took a calculated approach to the engagement and strategically targeted lenders domestically and internationally to find the most optimal provider of financing, leveraging new entrants to the senior housing space with more traditional banks. The financing will be provided by an international bank with a presence in Florida.

 

“This was a unique transaction, and we have a ‘turn over every rock’ mentality to make certain we provide our clients with the largest amount of options and best terms afforded to them by the marketplace,” Tarpley said. “In this case, the financing will be provided by a lender with a limited history in the senior housing space, but one that is excited by the tailwinds of this sector and believes in the strong team that will be developing and operating this community.”

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Email Matthew.  

 

“The challenge for this financing was not only getting banks comfortable with lending again in the seniors housing space amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but also securing a lender who was well-versed in the complexities surrounding a Shariah-compliant financing,” Levine said. “Our approach to this transaction demonstrated the effectiveness of our strategic marketing process.”

 

Email Mitch.  

 

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