Harrison Street, Harbert South Bay Form JV for Pasadena, Potomac Senior Housing
Harrison Street Asset Management and Harbert Management Corporation's South Bay investment team, Harbert South Bay, announced a joint venture Nov. 2 to develop two senior housing communities in Pasadena, California, and Potomac, Maryland. The projects, The Palmer in Pasadena and The Belle Mare in Potomac, are designed to add 80 and 94 units, respectively, for a combined 174 units. PNC Bank, N.A. is providing construction financing for both communities.
Harrison Street and Harbert South Bay Pair Up on Two Developments
The announcement, issued from Birmingham, Alabama, describes the venture as a development partnership between Harrison Street and Harbert South Bay. Both properties are luxury, Class A senior housing communities.
The Belle Mare is planned at 9545 River Road in Potomac, on a 5.93-acre site. It is designed with 68 assisted-living residences and 26 memory-care residences, offered as studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units of up to 1,554 square feet. Groundbreaking was reported for September 2026, with opening targeted for fall 2028. The Potomac site is near Bethesda and Washington, D.C.
The Palmer in Pasadena is planned at 80 units and is positioned as a luxury community in a high-demand Southern California submarket.
Momentum Senior Living and PNC Roles
Harbert South Bay said it partners exclusively with Momentum Senior Living on all projects in its portfolio, including the Pasadena and Potomac communities and the team's broader development portfolio. PNC Bank, N.A. is providing construction financing for the two projects.
Expanding Construction Portfolio
Together with projects already under construction in Irvine and Dublin, California, and Dallas, Texas, the two new communities bring Harbert South Bay's active construction portfolio to more than 800 units, the firms said.
Harbert South Bay is also planning additional senior housing construction starts in Walnut Creek, San Francisco and San Diego (Mission Valley), California, as well as Newton, Massachusetts. The firms said Harbert South Bay and Harrison Street are actively pursuing additional development opportunities to expand their senior housing portfolio.
Since inception, Harbert South Bay has developed more than 11,000 senior housing units across 84 projects, representing $1.8 billion in cost. Over the past 10 years, the team has focused on luxury communities with high-end amenities in affluent, high-demand markets with limited new supply.
Harrison Street describes itself as the largest private owner of senior housing properties in the U.S., having invested $16 billion across 46,000 units since the firm's inception.
Executives Cite Demand and Supply Constraints
"Pasadena and Potomac will be benchmark assets in our portfolio of luxury, Class A communities," said Patrick McGonigle, CEO of Harbert South Bay. "We are excited to begin construction on both projects, alongside a great partner in Harrison Street, as we continue to deliver distinctive communities designed to meet demand in attractive, supply-constrained markets."
Rob Korslin, Co-Head of North America Transactions at Harrison Street, pointed to demographic trends. "Demand for high-quality senior housing continues to outpace supply across the country, a trend expected to accelerate as the US population aged 80 and older reaches record levels," Korslin said. "We believe Pasadena and Potomac are two communities with growing needs and by partnering with experienced developers like Harbert South Bay, Harrison Street is helping to address this shortage while investing in a sector supported by compelling demographic trends and strong operating fundamentals."
About the Firms
Harrison Street Asset Management is a global alternative investment management firm with $110 billion in assets under management across real estate, infrastructure and credit strategies. It is headquartered in Chicago, Toronto and London, with more than 600 employees, and serves more than 1,100 institutional investors and more than 300 Registered Investment Advisors.
Harbert Management Corporation, formed in 1993, is a privately owned alternative asset manager with approximately $7.8 billion in regulatory assets under management as of Aug. 31, 2026. Its strategies include senior housing, European and U.S. real estate, power, growth capital and credit solutions.
Outlook
The venture shifts Harrison Street's senior housing activity toward ground-up development in affluent, supply-constrained markets, paired with Harbert South Bay's multi-market pipeline. With additional starts planned in California and Massachusetts, the partners said they are pursuing further development opportunities.
Sources
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