Berkadia Secures Bridge Refinancing for Two Harrison Street Senior Housing Communities in Boston MetroWest

Berkadia has arranged bridge refinancing for two Class A seniors housing communities in Boston's MetroWest region, the firm announced Aug. 25. The transactions cover The Residence at Charles Meadow in Millis, Massachusetts, and The Residences at Natick South in Natick, Massachusetts, both owned by Harrison Street.

Managing Directors Austin Sacco and Garrett Sacco, and Assistant Vice President – Originations Alec Rosenfeld of Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare, secured the financing through a regional bank. Each loan carries a three-year term. LCB Senior Living will continue as operator at both properties.

Property Details: Two Boutique Class A Communities

The Residence at Charles Meadow, located at 125 Dover Road in Millis, totals 105 units across 84,559 square feet. The community includes 14 independent living cottages across seven standalone structures, with 65 assisted living units and 26 memory care units housed in a two-story main building arranged around two courtyards.

The Residences at Natick South, located at 119 East Central Street in Natick, totals 86 units across 82,274 square feet. The community includes 10 independent living, 52 assisted living, and 24 memory care units and sits on a 5.5-acre wooded lot approximately 10 miles west of Boston along the Route 135 corridor. Both communities offer independent living, assisted living, and memory care services.

Bridge Financing Strategy in a Volatile Rate Environment

The three-year bridge loans give Harrison Street flexible, medium-term capital on two recently delivered, upper-tier assets as the firm works toward full stabilization. In the current environment — marked by elevated interest rates and wider credit spreads for seniors housing relative to pre-pandemic norms — sponsors have increasingly favored short-term, relationship-bank financing over permanent debt, preserving optionality for an eventual agency, life-company, or portfolio exit once capital markets conditions shift.

Harrison Street is a global alternative investment management firm with a long track record in demographically driven real assets. Keeping LCB Senior Living — which operates more than 30 communities across New England and the Mid-Atlantic — in place at both properties signals operational continuity, a factor lenders weigh heavily given the management-intensive nature of seniors housing.

MetroWest Demand Fundamentals

Berkadia noted that both communities draw from an affluent, stable senior demographic characterized by long-tenured homeowners and strong demand from adult children employed at nearby employment centers. Millis and Natick sit within Boston's MetroWest submarket, a supply-constrained corridor where the private-pay pricing typical of Class A seniors product is supported by the area's demographic profile.

Elevated construction costs and uneven occupancy recovery across the broader seniors housing sector have tempered new supply in many submarkets, reinforcing the competitive positioning of recently delivered, fully amenitized communities.

About the Arranging Team and Berkadia

Austin Sacco and Garrett Sacco serve as Managing Directors within Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare, while Alec Rosenfeld holds the title of Assistant Vice President – Originations. Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare provides capital markets advisory, underwriting, and loan origination services across active adult, independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing asset types, with lending products spanning FHA/HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, life company, and proprietary bridge programs.

Sources: Berkadia