Joint Venture Kicks Off $100M MOB Fund

/in , /by

Chestnut Funds and Anchor Health Properties have launched Chestnut Healthcare Fund II, a new investment vehicle centered on the acquisition of medical office buildings and other related health-care real estate assets across the U.S.

The $100 million real estate private equity investment fund will seek core and core-plus assets over the next 48 months.

“Chestnut Funds and Anchor anticipate many attractive investment opportunities in 2021 and beyond, with the fund focused on approximately 30 key markets across the U.S., where very specific potential investment targets are being identified,” James Schmid, chief investment officer & managing partner with Anchor Health Properties, told Commercial Property Executive.

The launch of Fund II comes five years after the initiation of Chestnut Healthcare Fund I, which, having raised roughly $50 million, will have completed its four-year investment period early this year with the acquisition of 52 assets via direct or joint venture transactions. Due to the U.S.’s aging population, expanded health insurance coverage and a shift in patient services away from hospitals, the medical office building sector has only grown more popular among investors since the 2016 introduction of Fund I. However, Anchor, which will co-manage Fund II with Chestnut Funds, is undaunted by the increased competition.

“There’s no question that institutional investors continue to recognize the performance of the sector across economic cycles and accordingly commit more dollars to sector investments. On behalf of Chestnut Healthcare Fund II, the Anchor team does an excellent job of sourcing off-market opportunities,” Ben Ochs, CEO & managing partner with Anchor Health Properties, told CPE.

Ochs’ assertion is not hyperbole; historically, more than 50 percent of Anchor’s closed transactions are sourced on an off-market basis.

“This allows the fund the opportunity to avoid broadly marketed processes and/or having to pay large portfolio premiums for aggregated asset pools while continually sourcing over $400 million of sector transactions per year,” Ochs continued. “Other investors new to the sector have found it more challenging to source transactions without deeply established relationships and a national infrastructure–elements notable within Anchor’s integrated operating platform of management/leasing, development and investment services.”

Pandemic-Resistant

While no sector of commercial real estate has gone completely unscathed by the COVID-19 pandemic, medical office buildings have survived the lockdowns and temporary halts in elective medical procedures.

“The strong performance of medical office and health-care real estate during the pandemic has really accelerated demand for these investments as a consistent source of stable cash yield and total return,” Schmid said. “While the period between March and June 2020 saw a modest pause in capital markets activity, new investment closings returned in a meaningful way in the second half of the year, and the pipeline of new attractive investment opportunities remains robust.”

Along with announcing the launch of Fund II, Chestnut Funds and Anchor disclosed that they have completed the inaugural seed investment with the purchase of 1408 3rd St. S.E., a 10,000-square-foot medical office building on the campus of Good Samaritan Hospital in the medical corridor in Puyallup, Wash. The high-quality, two-story, metropolitan Seattle property opened in 1997 and is presently occupied by MultiCare Health.

 

Source: Commercial Property Executive

Making Healthcare Facility Renovation Or Update Moves With Little Disruption

/in , , /by

The need for high-functioning healthcare facilities is as clear as ever.

But what happens when a procedural suite needs to be upgraded? Or a major piece of medical equipment needs to be replaced to provide new treatment options to patients?

Traditionally, healthcare facility renovations or updates to large equipment can put essential treatment areas out of commission. However, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, a new form of Building Information Modeling (BIM) that uses lasered beams of light to measure distance, can be used during a project’s exploratory phase to help. LiDAR provides an understanding of the space inside walls and ceilings and under floors before demolition, greatly reducing the amount of time it takes to prepare for and realize improvements.

Utilizing this technology during non-critical hours of operation, a project team can create a 3-D scan of existing conditions, including sections and elevations, and 3-D views of a designated workspace—all without impacting a hospital’s daily activities. Sometimes discoveries made during this process prompt improvements to plans or allow the project team to avoid issues that may not have been realized until after demolishing a space.

Columbia recently partnered with a longtime healthcare client to use LiDAR to provide 3-D existing conditions scans for several CT rooms, one of which contained one of the only units in the region for bariatric patients. The goal was to replace the CT machines on a fast timeline and avoid unforeseen issues that could add to the project schedule and budget.

A limited number of team members visited the hospital during off-hours and scanned all relevant areas. The scans were uploaded and shared with the project partners, avoiding the need to bring a large group through the facility—a critical feature especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it’s essential to limit the number of personnel visiting a facility. Furthermore, utilizing the shared scans online helped establish early and effective collaboration among the design, construction, hospital leadership, and equipment vendor teams, with everyone relying on the same set of factual information.

For this particular project, the LiDAR scan improved and streamlined the process in several ways. For example, during a review of the existing conditions scan during a virtual meeting, a team member noticed an existing nurse call button located on one of the CT room walls that had been missed earlier. This detail required bringing in an additional subcontractor to change the positioning of the electrical system, and recognizing this issue before work got underway meant that the team could properly price and schedule the project.

Because we had scanned areas both below the floor and above the ceiling, the project team could also examine the placement of the existing equipment support beams. Knowing whether these were positioned in parallel or perpendicular fashion ensured the new CT units could be properly fitted without any last-minute headaches. The equipment support vendor was also engaged much earlier in the project, ensuring an accurate budget and proper scheduling.

The information gained using LiDAR technology can enable project teams to confidently design and prepare the layout of the structural support for the installation of new hospital equipment; identify the best placement of equipment with regards to access and end-user maneuverability; highlight and prepare for all utility maintenance access needed during construction; and more accurately time procurement of new equipment and feel secure that it will fit the space requirements.

Healthcare is a constantly evolving arena, and LiDAR technology can help address the challenges associated with necessary equipment replacement and space remodels, making it a welcome tool for the industry.

 

Source: healthcare design

Jackson Health To Build Emergency Medical Hub In Coral Gables

/in , /by

Work will begin in six months on a new emergency medical facility in Coral Gables, Florida, that will serve Jackson Health System patients inside the city and within five miles of it.

Miami-Dade commissioners voted unanimously for the project at their final full meeting of 2020, advancing the latest expansion for the nonprofit public healthcare system that since 1918 has grown from community hospital with 13 beds to a network of thousands.

The single-story building, referred to in Miami-Dade documents as the Jackson Health Emergency Department at Galiano, will be built on two county-owned parcels on the corner of Oviedo Avenue and Southwest Eighth Street, also known as Galiano Street.

“The 10,170-square-foot facility will have dual functions,” a Dec. 15 memo from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.

The larger emergency department will have eight exam rooms and support space, two resuscitation rooms and computerized tomography and radiology equipment. The building will also serve as primary care space with six exam rooms.

There will be 36 parking spaces outside, including two that are compliant with Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. Some spaces will be convertible for electric vehicle charging in the future.

Materials attached to a prior memo by former county Mayor Carlos Giménez shows architectural and design firm Gresham Smith and engineering design firm Kimley-Horn as having worked on the project.

The project is now in the design and development phase, but Jackson has already approved the schematic design and layout of the facility. Miami-Dade expects construction documents to be final soon, with construction to begin in June and end in July 2022.

The roughly one-acre property, which Ms. Levine Cava’s memo said “was gifted” to Jackson by Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, the authorizing item’s sponsor. It is in an area zoned for limited commercial and single-family residential use.

“This…will be a miracle place in an area that we don’t have anything,” Ms. Sosa said.

“Most of the project’s funding will come from the Jackson Miracle Bond program, which includes work at all existing Jackson campuses and the creation of new facilities across Miami-Dade,” the memo said.

An additional $1 million will come from the county’s Building Better Communities general obligation bond program. Commissioners in October OK’d allocating to the project funds from the more than 16-year-old program, which includes an entry for “primary health care facilities” development.

A map depicting the five-mile radius of the property shows that the facility will serve communities in Coral Gables, Miami, Westchester, West Miami, Virginia Gardens, Miami Springs and Medley.

In the next five years, the population of those areas is expected to grow by 45,000 people, a 7.3% increase.

“The fastest-growing segment, will be residents aged 65 and older who will “demand increased medical services,” the memo said. “And the majority of patients treated [at and released from an emergency medical facility originate from ZIP Codes within a five-mile radius. Depending on the size of the ZIP Codes and the population density, a two- to five-mile area can represent between 50% and 70% of the patients treated.”

 

Source: Miami Today