icon Blueprint for July

Talk and Text

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3 min read

If you attended NH&RA’s Spring Forum in Los Angeles in May or just took a glance at the event’s agenda, you will recognize many of the topics covered in this month’s issue. A paramount objective of both a trade association and a trade magazine is to capture the current mindset of an industry, address the issues of greatest concern and facilitate the sharing of experience and innovative thinking across company lines. I view the association and the magazine as partners in comprehensive communication.

The NH&RA team—Thom Amdur, Lauren Anderson and Irta John—do a fine job keeping abreast of what their membership is thinking or obsessing about (as we all tend to do late at night when we can’t seem to sleep). I’m perpetually impressed by how up-to-date Thom stays on member company’s initiatives and considerations. This requires non-stop one-on-one conversations. I don’t know how he finds the time, but he does. As a result, the organization’s conferences always seem as fresh as the morning news, which often inspires the magazine to take a deeper dive into subject matter than you can provide in an hour session.

At recent conferences, a hot button topic has been next steps at the end of the tax credit utilization period usually discussed under the heading Year 15. John Gahan, an attorney at Murtha Cullina in Boston, who has been involved in over a dozen Year 15 transactions led a free-wheeling discussion of options. Which made us think, let’s provide some clarity by looking at how this might play out in compressed time, as in a play or a movie. You’ll find John’s scenario, Don’t Fear Year 15. “One of my clients once said, ‘I can be the pitcher or I can be the catcher. But I can’t be both,’” John told us. “Sometimes it’s better to be the catcher.”

A source of funding for Year 15 deals that is becoming more popular is private equity investments from, among others, pension funds, insurance companies and community banks. We asked Bendix Anderson to speak with industry participants who have selected this route. (What About Private Equity?)

Another issue that attracted a big crowd and serious interest in Los Angeles is the evolving relationships between senior housing facilities and in-home health care providers, partially inspired by the Affordable Care Act. Developer Tom Schuett of The Schuett Companies addressed the issue by forming his own healthcare providing company, CompassionCare Services, LLC to serve his properties. In this month’s Talking Heads, Darryl Hicks interviews Tom about the motivation and process of setting up the operation and covering its costs.

And while we’re on (or in) California, one of the quirkiest stories we’ve heard in some time is how construction supported by tax credit funding of Sacramento’s Dive Bar, which features tanks with live mermaids, impacted the future of affordable housing in the state. And, yes, we have photos. (The Dive Bar Affair)

Hope you enjoy this month’s stories. And to partake in the conversation, please join us at an NH&RA conference. (Next stop: Newport, Rhode Island, July 14-19.)

Marty Bell
Editor