Wellesley, Mass.-based Benchmark Assisted Living is purchasing five assisted living communities in Connecticut from Southington-based Athena Health Care Systems, including Laurel Gardens of Woodbridge (above).
A Massachusetts firm that specializes in assisted living is expanding its already large Connecticut base of senior housing with the purchase of five assisted living communities.
Wellesley, Mass.-based Benchmark Assisted Living announced last week that it will buy the communities from Southington-based Athena Health Care Systems. Earlier this fall, Benchmark acquired six Connecticut residences from the regionally based Village Retirement. With the Athena purchase, the company will own and operate 14 assisted living communities in Connecticut.
“Connecticut has been a great market,” said Brooke Tyson, a spokeswoman for Benchmark. “We really feel like this is a great place for Benchmark to grow.”
The company bought Laurel Gardens of Avon, Laurel Gardens of Hamden, Laurel Gardens of Woodbridge and Laurel Gardens of Milford. It completed the purchase of Laurel Gardens of Trumbull in December. The acquisition totals 526 units and includes assisted living and Alzheimer’s care units.
The company decided to grow in Connecticut because of the state’s large population centers, Tyson said. Assisted living communities in the state are popular with people who have always lived nearby, but they also appeal to seniors whose children live in Connecticut. Many older adults like to be near their children as they get older, Tyson said.
“Even if they go to Florida for a couple of years, they come back to where their kids are,” she said.
Benchmark, which now owns nearly 40 assisted living communities across New England, wants to continue to focus on the region, Tyson said. The company runs communities that specialize in independent living, assisted living and specialized assisted living for seniors with impaired memory. The Northeast has a great need for assisted living communities and that need will grow when baby boomers reach their mid-80s – the average age when seniors move into assisted living communities.
“Clearly there is a growing need for services for seniors,” said Patrick Collins, a vice president at Benchmark.
‘Focusing on the Need’
Benchmark approached Athena about buying the five communities, according to Tim Brown, Athena’s director of marketing and public relations. The sale will help Athena “reinforce its already strong ‘continuum of care,’ including skilled nursing care, assisted living and further developing Alzheimer’s and dementia care programs, while continuing our growth in developing new independent living and 55-plus communities,” according to Brown. Athena operates 22 skilled nursing facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Four assisted living communities in Orange, Glastonbury and Southwick, Mass., will remain in Athena’s network.
Athena is developing another independent living community in Massachusetts and is exploring more projects in Connecticut, according to Brown.
Benchmark chose the five communities it is buying because they complement the locations of the company’s other communities in Connecticut, according to Collins.
“We’re focusing on the need,” he said.
Benchmark owns communities in Connecticut from Waterbury to Mystic and has others spread out across New England.
Benchmark is the largest assisted living provider in Connecticut and New England and one of the 10 largest in the nation.
Sovereign Bank provided the financing for the purchase of Laurel Gardens of Trumbull. Greenfield Partners LLC formed a joint venture with Benchmark to provide the equity for the purchase of the remaining four residences. Debt financing was provided by M&T Bank.
Benchmark does not have any immediate plans for more expansion, according to Collins.
There are more than 80 assisted living facilities spread out across Connecticut, according to the Web site for the Connecticut Assisted Living Associations. Assisted living is the fastest-growing senior living alternative, according to the site. Connecticut adopted assisted living regulations in 1994, which allowed the industry to grow in the state. The nationwide population of frail elderly is expected to reach 7.3 million by 2020, according to the site.
