Columbia Pacific Advisors to Acquire Owner-Operator Hawthorn Retirement Group

by Jeff Shaw

SEATTLE — Columbia Pacific Advisors, a Seattle-based investment firm, has agreed to acquire Vancouver, Wash.-based seniors housing owner-operator Hawthorn Retirement Group for an undisclosed price.

Hawthorn owns, develops and operates communities located across 20 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Hawthorn currently operates 55 communities, with another 24 communities under construction or in pre-development. 

In addition to the real estate portfolio, the acquisition will include Hawthorn’s management and construction businesses.

The principal owners of Hawthorn — Bart Colson, Brad Colson, Norm Brenden and Pat Kennedy — have all known and worked with Columbia Pacific co-founder Dan Baty for many years. Bill Colson and Dan Baty were the primary owners of Holiday Retirement prior to its sale to Fortress Investment Group in 2007. Bart Colson and Brad Colson are Bill’s sons, and Bart was Holiday’s COO for 10 years prior to the sale to Fortress. Norm Brenden and Pat Kennedy were also high-ranking executives at Holiday.

“We are buying what we believe to be one of the best senior living companies ahead of a huge and quickly approaching demographic trend of an aging U.S. population,” said Alex Washburn, managing partner and co-founder of Columbia Pacific Advisors. “The Hawthorn platform consists of high-quality properties and a substantial pipeline of opportunity with the right operator to meet head-on the trends and challenges of the senior living industry.”

Columbia Pacific’s purchase of Hawthorn is expected to close later this summer. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Over the past 10 years, funds managed by Columbia Pacific Advisors (CPA) have developed or acquired ownership interests in more than 300 senior living communities comprising more than 25,000 units. Additionally, the firm is active across other real estate sectors, including the acquisition and development of over 1,300 multi-family units and more than 1.2 million square feet of commercial space throughout the U.S.

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