ATLANTA—CNL Lifestyle Properties announced its intention to buy four assisted living communities in the Atlanta area for $80 million. The real estate investment trust is acquiring the assets from Solomon Holdings III Dogwood Four. The deal is expected to close in May.

The quartet of assisted living assets includes Dogwood Forest of Alpharetta in Alpharetta, Ga., Dogwood Forest of Eagles Landing in Stockbridge, Ga., Dogwood Forest of Fayetteville in Fayetteville, Ga., and Dogwood Forest of Gainesville in Gainesville, Ga. Two of the properties, Dogwood Forest of Alpharetta and Dogwood Forest of Gainesville, have undergone recent expansions. Solomon’s affiliated management company, Trinity Lifestyles Management, will continue to operate the assisted living properties.

“We believe this acquisition will further diversify and enhance CNL Lifestyle Properties’ portfolio of senior living communities,” Joe Johnson, senior vice president and CFO of CNL Lifestyle Properties, said in a statement. “Dogwood Forest has a history of providing services and programs that create living environments that produce positive outcomes for their residents. Trinity Lifestyles’ goals for the properties align with our desire to expand our presence in the assisted living asset class.”

Specifically, Dogwood Forest embraces clinical research and data to ensure that an ideal living environment fostering healing, hope, independence and security is preserved among assisted living residents. The communities specialize in memory care, adult day services, post-operative care and short-term care.

The planned acquisitions come at the heels of CNL Healthcare Trust’s $84 million acquisition of five senior housing communities in Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and Ohio. Steve Mauldin, president and COO of CNL Healthcare Trust, tells GlobeSt.com the biggest challenge is finding assets that are newer and appealing for the next generation of residents. As he sees it, there remains some price disparities between sellers and buyers in certain markets and in certain asset-specific situations.
 
“Overall today’s market is strong for companies looking to make a long-term investment, such as CNL Healthcare Trust,” Mauldin says. “We are focused on forming solid relationships with companies who wish to sell senior living properties but continue to operate them, and I think that is appealing to many potential sellers. However, we are aware that there may be some good opportunities to purchase assets and insert new operators when a seller wishes to exit the market, and we are open to those investments as well.”