ALTON and BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Strawberry Fields REIT LLC has acquired two skilled nursing facilities near the Illinois-Missouri border for $5.9 million.
Strawberry Fields provided $4.3 million in cash, and received a $1.6 million seller note to both retire the mortgage debt on the buildings and pay the balance of the purchase price.
The properties total of 361 beds and include Integrity Healthcare of Alton in Alton and Integrity Healthcare of Belleville in Belleville. Although located in Illinois, both are suburbs of St. Louis, Mo.
“Strawberry Fields has been leasing and subletting these two properties since 2011,” says Moishe Gubin, CEO of Strawberry Fields. “Buying the buildings enables us to realize significant cost savings on rent.”
Integrity Healthcare Management will continue to operate the two facilities under a master lease agreement. The average occupancy in the homes is 48 percent, but improving. Of the current occupancy, 6 percent are Medicare patients, 88 percent Medicaid, and 5 percent private insurance.