The Phoenix Rises

While it was highly publicized that Grubb & Ellis Co.’s brokerage division had suffered ills during the recession, and several brokers and teams moved on to other firms, its investment-management division and the REITs it co-sponsored and advised could have been unfortunate casualties. Instead, the senior executives that had been in charge of managing Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II started American Healthcare Investors to co-sponsor the REIT and renamed it Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II shortly before Grubb filed for bankruptcy. The team has now been together for approximately six years and has collectively acquired and managed $3.5 billion worth of healthcare properties on behalf of thousands of investors.

“The REIT’s board knew it needed to move away from Grubb to protect the interests of the REIT’s shareholders,” Jeff Hanson, principal of AHI, tells REAL ESTATE FORUM. “The decision was made at the right time because on the day it was done, Grubb was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange, and bankruptcy was declared six weeks later. It was clear that the REIT would have to make a transition.”