Weekly Health Care Real Estate Briefing: Kaiser to Acquire Geisinger | Commercial Real Estate Outlook Remains Challenging While Demand for MOBs Is Strong | CT Children’s Medical Center Issues $144M in Bonds for Bed Tower

Kaiser Permanente has agreed to acquire PA-based Geisinger Health System. The combination, which still must pass federal and state regulatory scrutiny, would have more than $100B in revenue.
Commercial landlords are contending simultaneously with a cyclical market downturn and reduced demand for office and retail space. The recent surge in interest rates has caused property values to fall, while the rise of remote work and e-commerce are causing reduced demand.
While many sectors of commercial real estate are struggling, demand for MOBs and health care real estate is higher than ever, while health care M&A activity has slowed in the first quarter of 2023 but remained high, according to a report by Irving Levin Associates.
Kaufman Hall recently reported on various strategies for health providers to improve performance across their real estate portfolios, including identifying opportunities to reduce operating expenses, maximizing space utilization and crafting standardized processes for real estate projects to improve efficiency.
The EPA has approved the most recent ASTM standards for conducting Phase I environmental site assessments. The ASTM’s updated 2022 standard was originally approved by EPA, who later withdrew its final rule to address public comments. Until December 15, 2023, either the prior 2013 standard or the new 2022 standard will be deemed compliant with the “all appropriate inquiries” requirement under CERCLA.
Humana recently announced an additional $40M investment to increase the supply of affordable housing in 16 states. Humana previously committed $50M to this effort. Bon Secours Mercy Health, Boston Medical Center, Denver Health and University of Illinois Health were also recently featured for their commitments to provide stable housing in local communities.
The first phase of AdventHealth’s new campus at Lenexa City Center (KS) could be eligible for as much as $9M in private reimbursements over the next 20 years, as the City Council voted to include the project in a TIF district.
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center plans to issue $114M in bonds to help finance a new patient tower at its Hartford campus. The overall project cost is around $280M and will include 195,000 sf of space and 71 additional beds.
A new analysis by the National Council on Aging found that 80% of older adults lack the financial resources to cover four years in an assisted living community or more than two years of in-home long-term care and support services.
The state of Alaska has approved a CON proposal for a $48M, 150-bed skilled nursing facility in Anchorage that will be approximately 88,000 sf. The facility will help address a critical need for high-level, long-term care that has recently forced Alaska hospitals to keep patients longer in the hospital or send them to other states.