HJ Sims Finances Tuscan Isle, New Senior Community in Florida
Fairfield, CT (PRWEB) March 18, 2015 -- FAIRFIELD, CT– HJ Sims, a privately held investment bank and brokerage firm, is pleased to announce the financing of Tuscan Isle, a senior living residential rental community for seniors aged 55 and older located in Kissimmee, Florida, immediately adjacent to Solivita, a residential 55+ community with more than 7,000 residents. Tuscan Isle will be comprised of 120 independent living units, 56 assisted living units and 36 memory care units, and will provide critical services to seniors. The independent living units will be housed in a four-story building, made up of one and two bedroom units ranging in size from 706 to 1,230 square feet. The assisted living units will consist of studios and one/two bedroom units ranging in size from 390 to 620 square feet. The memory care units will provide for 36 residents in private rooms. The common area will offer space for dining, activities and a wide range of amenities associated with senior living.
Tuscan Isle’s assisted living residents will enjoy specially designed activities each day, as well as individualized service plans developed by the staff. Residents will also be provided with therapeutic services; personal care assistance; medication assistance; meals and nutrition; life enrichment program; housekeeping/maintenance; and safety/security.
Memory care units at Tuscan Isle will host a dining area where residents will enjoy meals, as well as activity and recreational space. Memory care will provide an activity focused therapeutic program for residents suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other related disorders. The services provided in the memory care units will be similar to those of the assisted living units, but will offer specific therapeutic interventions to meet the needs of residents with dementia. The goal of the project is to maintain the residents’ independence, function-ability and personhood for as long as possible.
Tuscan Isle has a preliminary shared services agreement with AV Homes, the developer of Solivita. Solivita offers a lively community atmosphere with a town center, clubhouse and more. Named one of the nation’s Top 50 master-planned 55-Plus communities by Where to Retire magazine for three consecutive years, Solivita has also earned more than 70 awards for design, community planning and environmental sustainability. Located on 4,300 acres, Solivita offers 150,000-square-feet of recreational amenities and 15 distinctive home designs.
The Tuscan Isle project began in January of 2015 and is currently under construction with a planned completion date in spring of 2016. Phase two of construction will incorporate a skilled nursing expansion. Financed with both taxable and tax-exempt bonds, as well as preferred equity, the borrower benefited from a creative financing solution at attractive fixed rates. Construction financing consisted of $40,645,000 tax-exempt bonds and $1,710,000 taxable bonds, making the total debt financing $42,355,000. The preferred equity consisted of taxable bonds for accredited investors, totaling $6,200,000.
“HJ Sims made the financing process simple expedient and successful. Working with some of the most experienced and creative experts in the field was key to finding the right financing structure to make Tuscan Isle a reality,” says Mike Comparato, Chairman, CEO Vieste Group, LLC, the lead owner of Tuscan Isle.
The owners of Tuscan Isle include: affiliates of Vieste Group, a program management and development services company from Chicago IL; HJ Sims Investments, an affiliate of HJ Sims; Life Care Services, one of the largest owner/operators of senior housing in the US; and Core Construction Group, a Florida-based construction company with extensive experience in designing and building senior communities.
“For this financing, we used our breadth of experience with tax-exempt and taxable bonds, as well as preferred equity, to arrive at the best financing structure for Tuscan Isle. This particular solution is not commonly used by other bankers. The result was a financing that is an innovative solution that provides the community with an attractive cost of capital and the ability to easily expand,” explains Jeffrey Sands, Managing Principal, HJ Sims.
ABOUT HJ SIMS: Founded in 1935 on Wall Street, HJ Sims is celebrating 80 years of service in the private client industry and more than 50 years of investment banking experience in the senior housing sector. A privately held investment bank and broker-dealer with approximately $1.8 billion of assets under management, HJ Sims is known as one of the country’s oldest underwriters of tax-exempt and taxable bonds. The first tax-exempt revenue bond issues for a hospital and a long-term care facility were structured by Sims bankers in 1964 and 1965. A pioneer in financing for senior housing, HJ Sims has raised more than $19 billion for projects throughout the US. The firm is headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, with investment banking, private client wealth management and trading offices in Scottsdale, AZ; Orlando and Boca Raton, Florida; Rockville, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Bloomington, Minnesota; Iselin and Montvale, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; and, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. All client assets are custodied at Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. For more information, please visit: http://www.hjsims.com. Investments involve risk, including the possible fluctuation of principal. Member FINRA/SIPC®.
Contact:
R. Jeffrey Sands, Esq. | Managing Principal, General Counsel
Fairfield, CT
(203) 418-9002 | jsands(at)hjsims(dot)com
Robert Gall, Senior Vice President
Orlando, FL
407-363-4493 | rgall(at)hjsims(dot)com
Tara Perkins, HJ Sims, http://www.hjsims.com/investment-banking/, +1 203-418-9049, [email protected]
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