Less than a year after ORIX Corporation USA (ORIX USA) acquired Lancaster Pollard, the two companies displayed the synergies of the acquisition with the closing of a $16.7 million construction financing. The transaction leveraged Lancaster Pollard’s expertise in seniors and health care housing and ORIX USA’s expertise in municipal and infrastructure financing to support the construction of Brickmont John’s Creek, a 120-unit assisted living (AL) and memory care (MC) facility in John’s Creek, Georgia, that will be owned and operated by Brickmont Assisted Living.
Lancaster Pollard placed tax-exempt bonds with ORIX USA, its parent company, to obtain construction financing for Brickmont John’s Creek, in accordance with Section 142(d) of the Internal Revenue Code.
“The collaboration between Lancaster Pollard and ORIX USA results in a structure where ORIX USA provides benefits to borrowers by removing many standard municipal market inefficiencies,” said Conner Girdley, vice president with Lancaster Pollard in Atlanta. “ORIX USA was able to offer a draw-down bond structure that results in significant savings during construction. Additionally, ORIX USA is flexible with respect to prepayment options, allowing Brickmont the opportunity to refinance into a permanent loan structure should it be deemed more cost-effective.”
A business unit of ORIX USA, ORIX Municipal and Infrastructure has an investment portfolio that includes transactions in a wide range of industries, including health care, housing, education, energy and transportation. Rob Wetzler, managing director, and Ben Forrest, director, led the transaction for ORIX USA. “ORIX USA agreed in advance to purchase all the bonds at a fixed interest rate, eliminating execution risk,” Wetzler said. “Further, our program mirrors a construction loan from a bank, providing an attractive non-recourse outlet for highly qualified borrowers like Brickmont to pursue plans for expansion.”
Founded in 2014, Brickmont Assisted Living has three other facilities open or under construction and is led by David Vickers, who previously had success founding and growing InTown Suites, an extended-stay hotel chain. By serving as the developer, general contractor, part-owner and manager of Brickmont, Vickers aims to build and operate facilities at a reduced cost and pass those savings along to seniors in the form of high-quality, affordable housing and care.
In September 2017, ORIX USA – the U.S. and Latin America business hub of leading international financial services firm ORIX Corporation (ORIX) – acquired Lancaster Pollard. ORIX USA provides comprehensive capital solutions for multifamily, affordable, seniors and health care real estate through its own business lines and those of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Boston Financial Investment Management, Lancaster Pollard and RED Capital Group.