Family business evolves into business family

by Jeff Shaw

LaSalle Group leads way in memory care with close-knit approach and uncompromising level of care.

By John McCurdy

With one person in the United States developing Alzheimer’s disease every 67 seconds, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, the need for memory care facilities is clear. That need will only increase in the coming years, as the incidence of Alzheimer’s is expected to double by the year 2050, at which time one person in the U.S. will develop the disease every 33 seconds.

Among the providers rising to meet this demand is The LaSalle Group, the Irving, Texas-based developer, owner and opertor behind the Autumn Leaves brand of memory care facilities. The company, which had 36 communities totaling more than 1,800 units in Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Georgia at the time of this writing, is well-established but also eager to bring its model and level of care to more communities across the country.

Named for the Chicago street on which it was founded in 1990, The LaSalle Group was established by Michigan native Melvin “Win” Warren Jr. to raise capital for the development of traditional multifamily properties. Before the end of the decade, Win relocated to the Dallas area and re-launched the company with a more niche focus on seniors housing.

It was a modest loan from Win’s father, Mel Warren Sr., that fueled the re-launch. “Let’s say this: It wasn’t millions,” says Joseph Jasmon, chief operating officer at The LaSalle Group, referring to the loan amount. “They were a very small business at that time, and it was really just a family getting together and finding something they thought could grow over time and support a family business concept.”

In line with that approach, Win’s son Mitchell joined the company in 2000 as a part-time project manager. That same year, the first Autumn Leaves property — the 40-resident-capacity Autumn Leaves of Arlington in Arlington, Texas — opened.

The location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex was chosen for several reasons, including strong demographics and the Texas business-friendly environment. The name was inspired by more sentimental factors that reflect the familial nature of the company.

“They wanted a name that reminded them of their roots and where they came from,” explains Jasmon. “Autumn was a special, colorful time for them where they grew up in Michigan, and it reminds them of family and togetherness. It relates to the residents as well, in what we’re trying to portray to them: It’s a beautiful time in their lives, and our philosophy is to allow them to age in place.”

Present day structure

Today, Win and his son are co-owners of The LaSalle Group, and Win serves as chairman while Mitchell serves as CEO. Win’s daughter, Jessica, has also come on board and now works as vice president of management, culture and training.

Needless to say, the company has come a long way from its first community in the meantime. The strategy, however, remains largely unchanged.

“When you look at the philosophy behind LaSalle and Autumn Leaves, we truly want to be able to promise to the families, residents and investors that we’ll not only develop and construct the community, but take responsibility and ownership on a day-to-day basis as well,” says Jasmon.

“That’s allowed us to control every aspect of the community,” he adds. “We might be a little bigger than we were, but we’re hands-on, and we’re making sure that each resident, every day, 24-7, is safe and comfortable, and that the families can trust that we will do what’s best for them.”

The company’s larger structure further illustrates this focus on togetherness. While The LaSalle Group is technically divided into four divisions — design, development, construction and management — the company does not break down its revenue or responsibilities into rigid corresponding categories.

Every Autumn Leaves community comes about as a result of collaboration, as every discipline that goes into running a memory care property is represented from Day One.

“In the start-up process, it’s truly all hands on deck — design, development, construction, operations, healthcare, legal and more,” says Jasmon. “And once we break ground, it’s a team effort. Everyone has a piece of that start-up plan, and it truly is a synergistic organization in that everyone pitches in where and when necessary.

“We do have subject matter experts within each of the areas, but no one area just takes the ball and runs with it,” he adds. “They’re all supporting one another.”

A successful model

Autumn Leaves properties under construction today very much resemble the original. For example, Autumn Leaves of Arlington required a larger proportion of equity on behalf of The LaSalle Group, but the basic financing structure remains the same in that funding is a combination of private investors, regional bank financing and equity.

Similarly, small modifications have been made to the physical structure prototype — such as new HVAC systems and the like — but the newest properties are still based on the four-wing structure around a central core used in Arlington.

Each wing, or “neighborhood,” has its own theme, such as “Garden” or “Western,” which entails the use of visual cues like colors and works of art to create a distinct connection and assist residents in remembering relative locations. Three enclosed courtyards provide outdoor space, while the kitchen, dining area and other amenities (such as a salon) are centrally located so as to be shared by all.

“This is the residents’ home,” says Jasmon. “We focus our efforts around that premise. We truly are a family caring for your family, but in a sense, we work in their home.”

Because the layout has gone largely unchanged, the size of Autumn Leaves facilities has not shifted much either. While LaSalle is currently exploring a 52-resident-capacity model, according to Jasmon, most properties under development are only slightly larger than the Arlington property.

Take Autumn Leaves of Edmond, situated in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, which can accommodate up to 46 residents. This $8.8 million, 28,000-square-foot community is located at 1001 S. Bryant Ave.

“If you look at us compared to some other communities in seniors housing, they’re into the hundreds of beds or rooms,” says Jasmon. “Ours are smaller by design because we believe the larger you get, the harder it is to get that day-to-day, hands-on, up-to-the-moment care.”

Autumn Leaves of Edmond also speaks to another hallmark of the brand, and that is a community-wide approach. Not only were each of the arms of The LaSalle Group involved at all times, but the people and government of Edmond also came out in strong support of the development.

Case in point: By the time of the property’s grand opening in late April, 32 deposits had already been placed and 26 residents were already moved in, according to Jasmon.

“The Edmond project is really a true success story,” he adds. “Nobody can complain, from the community to the investors to all of us, about how successful that one is.”

Finally, LaSalle’s approach to serving residents’ medication needs reflects both a high level of care and an emphasis on community. Each Autumn Leaves property works closely with local or regional pharmacies to ensure that medications can be delivered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For instance, Infinity Pharmacy serves this need for the Autumn Leaves properties in Texas, such as the Autumn Leaves of Cinco Ranch in Houston. But regardless of location, The LaSalle Group ensures that a vendor with a comparable level of service can support each community.

Jasmon puts it succinctly: “If they can’t help us 24/7, we don’t use them because that’s not satisfactory.”

Growth on the horizon

With existing Autumn Leaves properties performing strongly — Jasmon reports an average rent of $5,600 per month and occupancies of stabilized facilities between 85 and 90 percent — The LaSalle Group has concrete plans for the expansion of the brand. With a strong product and more than 1,000 employees covering all aspects of the business, the company will not look to buy existing properties, but rather to build more of their own.

Jasmon expects eight to 12 properties to open in each of the next five years, and the company is considering branching out into Florida, South Carolina and Wisconsin in addition to the four states in which a presence has been established. Locations are selected based on an intensive demographic study performed by The LaSalle Group’s development division.

“We target markets with a higher propensity of seniors, as well as adult children, as those are the folks that are placing their loved ones,” explains Jasmon.

Several properties were underway as of this writing, including Autumn Leaves of Arlington Heights in the suburbs of Chicago. The $12 million, 30,000-square-foot property broke ground in early May and is slated
to open during the first quarter of 2015.

The company recently entered the Austin market: Autumn Leaves of Northwest Austin and Autumn Leaves of Georgetown are under construction. The two developments total an investment of $21 million, reflecting the strong demographics of Texas’s state capital.

All this being said, what will ultimately determine The LaSalle Group’s rate of growth is the ability to maintain uncompromising standards in terms of medical care, including hospital readmission rates, as well as communication with residents’ families. Along those same lines, the company is not considering selling any of its existing properties in order to stay true to its mission. 

“For me and for our company, it’s really all about the people we serve, including our residents, their family members and our staff,” says Jasmon. “And the only way to meet all of their needs is to have a very strong, compassionate team to deliver that care.”

Adds Jasmon: “I look at this as a wonderful opportunity for us as an organization to make a difference in the lives of so many different people.”

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