California healthcare real estate trust acquires Missouri hospital

Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II, Inc., has acquired the Joplin Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, a 26,000-square-foot facility in Joplin, Mo., the second property in a $42 million acquisition spree by the firm.

The Santa Ana, Calif.-based real estate investment trust is acquiring a four-property portfolio of regional, long-term acute care hospitals. A similar facility in Cape Girardeau, Mo., was acquired in August, and facilities in Columbia, Mo., and Athens, Ga., are under contract.

"Long-term acute care hospitals such as the four we are acquiring in Missouri and Georgia are attractive additions to the portfolio of Grubb & Ellis," said Danny Prosky, the trust's president and chief operating officer. "They enjoy very limited competition, have strong relationships with major healthcare systems and provide stable long-term income that is immediately accretive and supportive of our investor distribution."

Joplin LTAC Hospital is the only non-governmental facility of its kind within 70 miles and is close to St. John's Regional Medical Center, the region's leading healthcare provider and a significant source of referral patients, Prosky said.

Joplin LTAC is leased by Landmark Holdings of Missouri, LLC, which signed a long-term lease through 2025. Grubb & Ellis financed the acquisition using cash proceeds received from its offering and $8 million under its line of credit with Bank of America.

Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II is in the midst of a growth phase, as it seeks to raise up to approximately $3 billion in equity and acquire a diversified portfolio of real estate assets, focusing primarily on medical office buildings and other healthcare-related facilities.

The REIT is sponsored by Grubb & Ellis Company, billed as one of the largest commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world.