Wallick Secures $49M for Ohio Properties

The Ashford on Broad. Image courtesy of Merchants Capital

Midwestern developer Wallick Communities has received nearly $50 million in bridge loans for three assisted living communities in Ohio, which will allow the properties to continue leasing and become eligible to be insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Merchants Capital, a unit of Merchants Bank, arranged the financing for the communities, which encompass 363 units in and around Cincinnati and Columbus.

The Ashford at Mt. Washington, a 124-unit community located at 1131 Deliquia Drive in Cincinnati, landed $13 million in financing over 24 months. The Ashford on Broad, a 131-unit property at 4801 E. Broad St. in Columbus, obtained $16 million in bridge financing over 36 months. Both projects opened their doors in 2017. The Ashford at Sturbridge, which opened in April 2019, received $20 million in financing over 42 months. The 124-unit community is located at 3700 Sturbridge Court in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard, Ohio, situated on the same campus as Wallick’s affordable senior apartment community Sturbridge Green.

Senior living that doesn’t break the bank

The three communities cater to working- and middle-class seniors by offering rents at 15 to 30 percent below comparable properties. They also accept payment through Ohio’s Medicaid Waiver program.

Wallick Communities, headed by CEO Tom Feusse, develops and manages affordable housing and senior living projects in the Midwest. The company’s portfolio of more than 190 communities includes more than 13,000 apartment units under management.

Demand for affordable assisted living facilities will grow sharper as Baby Boomers continue to retire. A recent report by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) found that most middle-income seniors will be unable to afford residence in a private-pay assisted living community by 2029.