Attached files
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| 8-K - FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT - CENTERSPACE | iret8k-12302009.htm |
Exhibit
99.1
Press
Release
INVESTORS
REAL ESTATE TRUST ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF ACQUISITION
OF
WYOMING ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
Investors
Real Estate Trust (“IRET”) (Nasdaq: IRET) (Nasdaq: IRETP)
announced today that it has completed its acquisition of two limited
liability companies that own and operate a portfolio of five assisted living
facilities in three communities in Wyoming. The five facilities,
located in Casper (two facilities), Cheyenne (two facilities) and Laramie (one
facility), Wyoming, have a total of approximately 320 units or approximately
370-380 beds. IRET acquired 100% of the member interests in the owner
and operator of these five facilities from LSREF Golden REIT Inc. and LSREF
Golden Ops Holdings LLC for a total purchase price of approximately $45
million. The Wyoming assisted living portfolio consists of the Meadow
Wind and Park Place assisted living facilities in Casper, Wyoming; the Aspen
Wind and Sierra Hills assisted living facilities in Cheyenne, Wyoming; and the
Spring Wind assisted living facility in Laramie, Wyoming.
The
acquisition price for the portfolio was funded with cash in the amount of
approximately $8.87 million, and with the proceeds of a $36.5 million loan from
First International Bank and Trust, Watford City, North Dakota. The
First International loan has a term of six years, and an initial interest rate
of 4.5%. The Company paid an origination fee for the loan of
$36,500. The loan is secured by mortgages on the Wyoming properties
and is guaranteed by IRET Properties.
As of the
closing date of the acquisition, the Wyoming assisted living portfolio is
approximately 95% occupied. The acquisition of these facilities
increases the assisted living facility portion of IRET’s medical portfolio from
20 assisted living properties to 25 assisted living properties.
IRET
plans to begin construction in the next several months of expansion projects at
three of the facilities, to add memory care units and additional assisted living
units. Current plans are to construct a total of approximately 38
memory care units and approximately 65 additional assisted living units for a
total estimated cost of approximately $8.2 million.
IRET’s
President and Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Mihalick, commented, “We are very
pleased to have closed this transaction, which adds a significant number of
assisted living units to our diversified portfolio, in a market with attractive
demographics and an economy that has held up well during the current
downturn. We are also pleased to put to work for our shareholders a
portion of the proceeds we raised in our October 2009 public offering of common
shares.”
Separately,
IRET also announced that the prospective purchaser of the Company’s Dakota Hill
at Valley Ranch multi-family residential property located in Irving, Texas has
terminated the purchase agreement and the proposed sale of that property will
not be completed; the Company will therefore pursue refinancing options for the
mortgage loan on the property that matures on February 1, 2010.
About
Investors Real Estate Trust
IRET is
an equity real estate investment trust with a diversified portfolio of
multi-family residential, office, medical, industrial and retail properties
located primarily in the upper Midwest. IRET’s headquarters are
located in Minot, North Dakota, and it has additional offices in Minneapolis,
Minnesota and Omaha, Nebraska. IRET’s common shares of beneficial
interest trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol
IRET. For more information, visit IRET’s website at
www.iret.com.
Safe
Harbor
Statements
about IRET’s future expectations and all other statements in this press release
other than historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such
forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created
thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and
are subject to change at any time, the Company’s actual results could differ
materially from expected results.
For more
information, please contact:
Michelle
Saari, Vice President, Investor Relations
701-837-4738
msaari@iret.com