Prima Living has completed its $117.91-million acquisition of nine senior living communities in Ontario from Chartwell Retirement Residences, adding 689 units and bringing its total portfolio to 1,187 suites across Canada.

“These properties are based on very solid foundations that Chartwell built, and we like working with Chartwell,” Prima Living president Najib Raie told RENX.  

Mississauga, Ont.-based Chartwell is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate trust that indirectly owns and operates a range of seniors housing communities. It’s one of the largest operators in Canada, serving approximately 25,000 residents in four provinces.

The nine Ontario properties Prima Living acquired from Chartwell, which considered them non-core assets, are:

• Prima Living Colonial in Whitby;
• Prima Living Hartford in Morrisburg;
• Prima Living Anne Hathaway in Stratford;
• Prima Living Park Place in Aurora;
• Prima Living Pinewood in Pembroke;
• Prima Living Rosedale in Brockville;
• Prima Living Quail Creek in Renfrew;
• Prima Living Westmount on William in Sudbury; and
• Prima Living Bayview in Belleville.

“Every property is different, so some of them require a major capital investment, which we’re prepared for,” Raie said. “There’s a different strategy for every site, but we’re investing in all of them to elevate the current condition for existing residents, for our staff and for the entire community.”

Prima Living’s growth strategy

This deal comes just 15 months after Prima Living’s first Ontario acquisition in Pickering and the addition of two residences in Oakville and North York last October. This latest transaction strengthens the company’s position as a growing operator in a market where new supply remains limited and many existing communities require renewal or reinvestment.

“We want to be one of Canada's most reliable seniors residence and healthcare operators, where we tailor to the need of seniors today and tomorrow,” Raie said. 

Prima Living is interested in long-term care, assisted living, independent living and private pay facilities for seniors.

The company has already demonstrated results with Amenida Seniors Community Pickering, where occupancy increased from 45 to 95 per cent in five months following investments in programming, infrastructure and day-to-day operations.

Prima Living also invested approximately $2 million in upgrades to Amenida Seniors Community Trafalgar Lodge in Oakville, which it acquired from Revera last fall. Occupancy has increased from 50 to 80 per cent and Raie is confident it will reach 95 per cent by the end of the year.

Prima Living and Primacorp Ventures

Prima Living was created 17 years ago and its first acquisition was Amenida Seniors Community Surrey in Surrey, B.C. 

It’s backed by the global infrastructure of Primacorp Ventures, a New Westminster, B.C.-based company formed in 1995 that has invested in the education, senior living management and care, health care, child care and real estate sectors.

While these latest acquisitions were all made with in-house funding, Raie said Prima Living’s goal of becoming one of the top five senior living community operators in Canada will only be fulfilled through additional outside investment.

“I'm looking forward to engaging with other capital partners in the future as we grow fast and truly national,” he explained. “We see ourselves operating from coast to coast and making a difference in providing a better experience for seniors, and that requires us to go with other capital partnerships.”

Future developments

Prima Living continues to evaluate opportunities to expand its footprint through acquisitions, new developments and strategic partnerships.

The company has four greenfield development sites, and is hoping to break ground on some of them early next year. 

They are:

• a 456-unit campus of care — an integrated, multi-level health and housing facility providing independent living, assisted living and long-term care in one centralized location — in Oshawa, Ont.;
• a 700-unit campus of care in Victoria that will be the largest in British Columbia;
• a campus of care with more than 500 units on 13 acres in Edmonton; and
• a campus of care with almost 500 units in Squamish, B.C.

“We also have commercial buildings that we’re in the process of repurposing to independent living,” Raie said.