MBK Acquires 153-Unit Seniors Facility

TEMECULA, CA-Irvine-based MBK Senior Living has acquired the 153-unit, 178-bed Sterling Senior Communities in a direct deal between the buyer and the seller, a Washington State-based owner and operator of seniors facilities. Terry Howard, who became president of MBK Senior Living Communities when the company re-entered the market last year, tells GlobeSt.com that the purchase is part of MBK's strategy for rebuilding its portfolio of seniors properties.The Temecula property occupies a 20-acre campus on Butterfield Stage Road at the gateway to Temecula's wine country, not far from Rancho California Road. It includes 51 independent living units, 73 assisted living units and an Alzheimer's care facility with 28 units and 53 beds.The complex, which comprises three separate buildings, was built in 1998 and was approximately 83% occupied at the time of the sale. The transaction was an all-cash purchase for an undisclosed sum. News reports at the time of construction of the facility pegged its development costs at approximately $16 million.On-site amenities at the property include main and private dining rooms, an exercise and wellness facility, library, billiards room and business center. Other services and amenities include a beauty and barber shop, individual storage areas, an ice cream parlor, a community room and covered parking, landscaping, a pool and a Jacuzzi, shuffleboard courts, a putting green and outdoor living areas.Howard says the Temecula property was appealing because the city is one of the fastest growing communities in the Inland Empire. From 1990-2004, the population nearly tripled, rising 185.8% from 27,099 to 77,460. In 2003, Temecula was ranked as the "most prosperous" of the Inland Empire's 48 cities, and its average household income for 2005 is estimated to be $79,699, well above both Riverside's $48,384 and San Diego's $55,170 estimated 2005 median household incomes.MBK Senior Living's business plan is to acquire or develop high-quality senior living assets with multiple levels of care in high growth California markets, according to Howard, who says the company is "aggressively pursuing and continuing to identify" other prospective acquisitions throughout California.MBK Senior Living has retained Renaissance Senior Living, an Irvine-based senior housing provider, to manage the acquisition.MBK Senior Living Communities is a subsidiary of MBK Real Estate Ltd., the US real estate development arm of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., one of the world's largest corporations. The company called on Howard last year when it returned to the seniors housing market after an absence of five years. Before exiting the industry in 1999 because of the weakness in the market then, MBK was one of the largest regional players in the seniors housing market.