Built in the late 1990s, the facility is located over 50 miles from the nearest competing nursing facility in New Mexico. Due to the lack of competition in the surrounding market, the facility has historically had a strong regional presence which is exemplified by their average occupancy in Fiscal 2019 of 93%. The facility experienced a COVID-19 outbreak shortly before going to market, which resulted in the loss of over 25 residents and brought occupancy down to an all-time low of 46%. At the time of sale, the facility was 65% occupied.

ESI represented the seller, a regional owner/operator based out of Louisiana. Jeremy Stroiman, Chief Executive Officer of ESI, commented “The acquisition presented the opportunity for a new operator to grow their presence in the state of New Mexico and apply additional synergies as this community is folded into their portfolio.”

The buyer was a Chicago-based owner of skilled nursing communities.

Evans Senior Investments continues to observe the difficulty of operating long term care assets in today’s marketplace with rising labor costs and the increasing need for compliance oversight. The continued crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic will likely intensify the struggles of independent owners as the crisis strains the day to day operations at facilities nationwide. Since March 2020, Evans Senior Investments has closed over $678M in transaction volume.