JLL’s Capital Markets group and HJ Sims have arranged $473 million in tax exempt and taxable bond financing for the ground-up development of The James, a luxury rental, 350-bed seniors housing community in Irvine, Calif., the largest tax-exempt senior living financing of the year and largest non-profit single-site senior living bond issue in history.
JLL’s Seniors Housing Capital Markets team worked on behalf of Harbert South Bay Partners, LAMB Properties, P3 Foundation and Momentum Senior Living to secure the 35-year financing with HJ Sims hired as sole-underwriter of the bonds. The financing consisted of $442.1 million of publicly offered tax-exempt senior series 2024A bonds, $12.93 million in taxable senior series 2024B bonds and $18 million in subordinate tax-exempt series 2024c and 2024d bonds. JLL also handled the land sale to the partnership on behalf of the seller.
The James will be the first new senior living community in the Irvine market in 28 years. The community will offer 210 independent living units, 110 assisted living units and 30 memory care units with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom luxury rental units, averaging 837 square feet. An expansive amenity package will be available, including multiple dining venues, indoor pool and spa, wellness gym and yoga studio, therapy rooms, hair salon, media lounge, golf simulator, dog park and pet washroom and bocce ball.
“While tax exempt financing has been used to finance senior living in the past; this specific structure was innovative for both the clients involved and bond investors,” said Jay Wagner, head of JLL’s Seniors Housing Capital Markets team. “We could not be more excited for our clients and investors to deliver this amazing project to the city of Irvine.”
The community is positioned on a three-acre site at 1001 Gates Ave. across the street from The District at Tustin Legacy, an upscale retail center with 15.6 million visitors annually. Orange County’s 65+ population is the fastest growing segment of the population, expected to increase to 29% of the total population base.
Aaron Rulnick, head of investment banking at HJ Sims, commented, “We are very grateful for the opportunity to work with JLL, P3 Foundation, Harbert South Bay Partners, Momentum Senior Living, and the rest of the project and financing team on this transformational bond financing, which will serve as a template for partnerships between non-profit borrowers and for-profit developers and operators.”
