HJ Sims Arranges $96.1M Bond Financing for Two-Property Portfolio in Pennsylvania

by Jeff Shaw

MECHANICSBURG and ERIE, Pa. — HJ Sims has arranged a $96.1 million bond refinancing for two seniors housing communities in Pennsylvania.

The borrower is Asbury Communities Inc., a nonprofit operator with six communities in Maryland, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. The communities involved in this transaction are Bethany Village in Mechanicsburg, a suburb of Harrisburg, and Springhill in Erie.

Bethany Village opened in 1964 and contains an east and west campus. The east campus consists of 95 residential cottages, 94 court apartments, 26 rental apartments, administrative offices and amenities. The west campus comprises 138 apartments, 42 residential cottages, five estate homes, a 100-unit assisted living community, 69-bed skilled nursing center and further amenities, including rehabilitation gyms.

Springhill opened in 1985 and features 28 garden homes, a healthcare center, 20-bed specialty care unit for memory care, and an aquatic center (to be completed in 2020).

The bonds refinanced a previous series of bonds, closed in 2010, on the first optional redemption date of Jan. 1, 2020. Sims priced the bonds in November, but delayed closing to avoid nearly $600,000 of negative arbitrage between the pricing date and closing date.

The new bonds are scheduled to mature in 2045, and are projected to provide $15 million of savings. The transaction will generate nearly $850,000 of debt service savings annually through 2041 and more than $1.2 million of debt service savings annually from 2042 to 2045, according to Sims.

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