KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Ziegler, a specialty investment bank, has closed $122.5 million in tax-exempt, fixed-rate bonds for Ashfield Active Living and Wellness Communities. The company will use the bonds for Aberdeen Heights, a 318-unit continuing care retirement community in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood.
The property is located on 21 acres and includes 243 independent living apartments, 30 assisted living apartments, 15 memory support suites, and 30 skilled nursing beds. Ashfield opened the community in September 2011.
Ashfield is a controlled affiliate of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc. (PMMA), a Kansas nonprofit corporation. PMMA is also the sole member of Presbyterian Manors Inc. (PMI), a Kansas nonprofit that owns 16 senior living communities and two hospices throughout Kansas and Missouri. Aberdeen Heights is co-managed by PMMA and Greystone.
Proceeds of the bonds will be used to refund bonds from 2010, fund a debt service reserve fund and pay costs of issuance.
Ziegler originally provided seed capital for Aberdeen Heights’ development through its Ziegler Equity Funding private equity funds, and later financed the Series 2010 bonds that funded the construction of Aberdeen Heights. This is the 12th financing Ziegler has arranged for PMMA.
“With this financing, Aberdeen Heights generated over $18 million in net present value savings, or approximately 17 percent of par amount of bonds refunded,” says Will Carney, managing director in Ziegler’s senior living practice.