Cambridge Realty Capital celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2013. Thirty-two years ago, Chairman and Founder Jeffrey A. Davis decided to leave his Vice President position with one of the country’s oldest real estate brokerage firms and set out on his own to create Cambridge Realty Capital. Cambridge was founded “on the premise that a sole and singularly focused finance and investment firm was a better personal alternative than being part of a successful, multi-faceted organization.” The company founded by Jeffrey A. Davis holds true to his mission 32 years later. Today, with over $4.5 billion in closed transactions, Cambridge now ranks among the nation’s leading senior housing healthcare lenders and is consistently top ranked for FHA-approved HUD lenders.
Reflecting on the early days of Cambridge Realty Capital, Mr. Davis has said, “We felt we needed to make a choice between representing investors through a series of correspondent relationships or representing owners. We chose to represent owners. Philosophically, we believed that if you have the deal, money will follow. From the start we decided we wanted to be a merchant banking firm doing both placement and equity deals. We chose an investment banking model vs. a brokerage model and opted for a team approach vs. individual deal makers.” Cambridge was not initially focused on the senior housing and nursing home market, but rather on working with commercial real estate properties. Soon, with the addition of Partner Andy Erkes, Cambridge began working on multifamily developments and Section 202 loans with HUD insurance. The company’s focus on multifamily developments eventually led to a shift in focus to senior housing and nursing home real estate development.
Thirty years ago, the senior housing and health care industry landscape was much different than it is today. Back when Cambridge Realty Capital was founded, senior housing was mostly run by small mom and pop independent operations. Healthcare REITs were nonexistent and investors were not interested in senior housing. Cambridge got its start in the senior housing market when the moratorium on nursing home development was lifted in Illinois and a Cambridge client had acquired authorization to develop a skilled nursing home in Chicago. “At the time, interest rates offered by commercial banks were in the stratosphere, but Andy correctly believed it would be possible to arrange an attractive financing package with HUD that would meet our client’s needs. We’ve been able to repeat this process time and again since then and have had a front row seat as HUD has progressed to become a mainstream funding product for the healthcare industry,” Davis said.
Contact Cambridge Realty Capital
Cambridge Realty Capital specializes in providing financing and capital for senior living facilities, whether you are looking for capital to complete a merger or acquisition or make improvements to an existing facility. For any questions regarding finance and capital for your Senior Living initiative, contact Cambridge Realty Capital.
