HJ Sims Partners with Merrill Gardens Once Again
Partnered Right®
Based in Seattle Washington, R.D. Merrill Company (“Merrill”) was founded in 1890 by Richard Dwight Merrill initially as a timberland business, later diversifying into real estate investment, development, and management of senior housing, mixed-use, and multi-family properties. To date, Merrill and its affiliates have been the principal in 61 acquisitions and 46 developments.
Founded in 1996, Merrill’s senior housing affiliate Merrill Gardens, currently operates 30 senior housing communities in seven states. Over the course of its history, Merrill Gardens has served over 60,000 senior residents and the company has owned or managed over 120 communities in 17 states. Merrill Gardens is consistently recognized for setting a high standard for quality and innovation in the senior housing industry.
Founded in 2007, Merrill’s affiliate Pillar operates approximately 1,650 apartment units and 178,781 square feet of commercial space. Additionally, Pillar has developed approximately 6 million square feet of senior housing, multi-family housing and real estate space in more than 30 development projects over the past 12 years, with a combined total cost in excess of $1.5 billion. Pillar focuses on developing senior housing, mixed-use, and multi-family properties.
Structured Right®
In 2019, HJ Sims committed to investing $20 million in RDM Housing Strategies VI, LLC (“RDM VI” or the “Fund”) through the purchase of Class A Interests. RDM VI was formed by Merrill to develop and acquire multi-family and senior housing communities, primarily in urban infill locations in the south and on the west coast. At the time of the first capital call, RDM VI had plans for initial investments in four senior housing properties and identified several additional properties as potential future investments for the Fund. In order to participate in the Fund, the Sims investment needed to be structured with the flexibility to fund future capital calls as needed by the Fund.
Executed Right®
A Sims controlled investment company, Sims Merrill Gardens VI, LLC (“Sims Issuer”), was formed to invest in RDM VI, with plans to issue multiple series of securities to capitalize Sims’ investment in the fund. The Sims Issuer previously closed on $4,395,000 of the Series I Bonds in November 2019, $3,335,000 of the Series II Bonds in February 2020, and $2,290,000 of Series III Bonds in May 2020. To meet recent capital calls from the Fund, Sims issued $6.85 million of Series IV securities in October 2020.
Financed Right®
Utilizing its extensive investor base and industry expertise, Sims was able to underwrite and implement an efficient investment structure meeting the capital objectives and needs of Merrill and its affiliates. Through its Private Client Group, Sims secured capital from its high net worth investors in a turbulent market amidst concerns of COVID-19 to fulfill its investment, meeting the timing needs of the Fund.
HJ Sims excels in providing customized debt and equity capital for senior living providers utilizing a variety of direct financing solutions including equity, preferred equity, mezzanine debt, and high leverage first mortgage loans, tailored to meet the unique financing needs of valued partners like Merrill.
For more information on how this project was Financed Right® by HJ Sims, please contact:
Jeff Sands
203.418.9002
Curtis King
512.519.5003