TAMPA, FL—Medical office properties are in demand in Florida and beyond. Indeed, expanded health insurance coverage and the overall aging of the US population are strong  medical office sector growth signals that are attracting investors to the marketplace, according to Marcus & Millichap.

During the next 10 years, the 65-plus age cohort, who average two and a half times the number of physician-office visits than the rest of the population, will grow by 17 million individuals, M&M reports. And the shift toward a more consumer-centric delivery model, for example, has encouraged hospitals and health systems to bring more care into communities, mostly by way of outpatient facilities and satellite offices.

Investors are preparing for the payoff—and Hunt is positioning for a piece of the action.  Hunt Mortgage Group, a commercial real estate lender, provided a $6.63 million first mortgage loan to finance the acquisition a medical office property located in Winter Haven, FL, a retirement haven. The loan was one of the first arranged through Hunt's Proprietary Loan Team, the firm's balance sheet lending platform.

“Our new Proprietary Loan platform provides balance sheet loans to finance properties in all asset classes other than hotels,” Dan Eibler, director for commercial real estate at Hunt, tells GlobeSt.com. “This includes: manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, office, industrial, retail, self-storage facilities in addition to multifamily properties.”

Medical Villages at Winter Haven is a 36,579-square-foot single story, class A medical office building that sits on a 4.23-acre parcel.  The medical office property is at 7450-90 Cypress Gardens Boulevard.

The borrower, Winter Haven Medical Properties, purchased the medical office property for $8.5 million. The term of the loan is 10-year with a 30-year amortization schedule.

“Built in 2007, Medical Villages at Winter Haven was renovated and converted into a medical office property in 2014,” says Eibler.  “It is currently 96% occupied by fourteen new medical office tenants.”

The medical office property is located between the Orlando and Tampa metropolitan areas and has good access to highways and public transportation. Retail and commercial services are readily available along major thoroughfares, and the medical office property is about eight miles southeast of the 527-bed Winter Haven Hospital.

“The deal sponsors have extensive experience in the medical office market, with 10 class A and class B properties in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Ohio.  Additionally, the Winter Haven market is a strong medical office market,” says Eibler. Hunt's deal team included Eibler, Dan Wolins, George Winckler, and April Swan-Rosney.