Grove Isle developers pay $17M for West Kendall assisted living facility

UPDATED, Nov. 21, 12:50 p.m.: United Home Care sold an assisted living facility in West Kendall to Reign Gardens.

Property records show 9355 Miami LLC, led by Grove Isle developers Eduardo Avila and Hector Fernandez-Rousselon, paid $16.5 million for the four-story, 87,674-square-foot building at 9355 Southwest 158th Avenue. United Home Care, led by president and CEO Carlos Martinez, sold the 2.6-acre property.

The buyer financed the acquisition with an $11 million mortgage from Banesco. Enrique Garcia and Benjamin A. Sardinas of Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions represented the buyer and seller. Kevin Deeb of Deeb and Deeb PA represented the buyer as its attorney, while Robert Elias at The Elias Law Firm represented the seller.

The 122-unit, 155-bed building was built in 2015, according to property records. The units are all studios or one-bedrooms and have kitchenettes and ADA-compliant bathrooms, according to United Home Care’s website. The nonprofit began as a division of United Way and the West Kendall development is its only ALF.

Reign Gardens plans to grow in the senior living space, Fernandez-Rousselon said in a press release.

The Residences of United Home Care, now called The Residences at Miami, also features a cafe and dining area for residents, a wellness and fitness center, library and technical center, beauty and barber shop, laundry services, and a back-up generator.

It’s close to the West Kendall Baptist Hospital, which was developed between 2011 and 2017. Residential construction ramped back up in West Kendall in recent years, following the recession.

Across the street from the ALF, the owner of a nearly 70-acre site has proposed a major development that would include apartments, hotel rooms, retail stores and office space.

Developers are increasingly turning to senior living and assisted living facilities. In Coral Gables, Baptist Health is partnering with Belmont Village Senior Living to build a luxury senior living facility at the 2.8-acre site at 250 Bird Road.