Vi Senior Living, Classic Residence
| Type | Private Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Senior Living |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Website | http://www.viliving.com |
Vi (formerly known as Classic Residence by Hyatt) is a national developer, owner and manager of high-end retirement communities across the United States.[1] It is a privately held corporation founded in 1987 by its former Chairman, Penny Pritzker.[2] As of December 2011, the company housed over 4,000 residents and employed 2,592 workers.[3] Senior Housing Properties Trust purchased Vi's rental portfolio in December 2011.[4]
Vi founder Penny Pritzker no longer chairs the company she established nearly 25 years ago. Ms. Pritzker left Vi in early January to focus on her new investment firm. Pritzker family business interests continue to own the company.[5]
Vi is a distinct business entity from Hyatt hotels and Global Hyatt Corporation.
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[edit] History
For over twenty years, Classic Residence by Hyatt built its reputation on its relationship with the Hyatt hotel brand. In 2007, company president Randal Richardson said that "Classic Residence by Hyatt has really translated the quality of the Hyatt brand into luxury senior living."[6]
In 2008, Classic Residence by Hyatt sold its trademark and agreed to discontinue use of the Hyatt name. When the new name - Vi - was revealed to residents at its Palo Alto community in June 2010, there was reportedly "an audible escape of air from the aged crowd" that included "murmurings of disbelief".[7]
[edit] Sale
The SeniorCare Investor reported in early 2011 that Vi was for sale, and that the process has been “shrouded in secrecy.”[8] On September 1, after months of rumors, it was announced that Senior Housing Property Trust would buy Vi’s nine rental communities for $478 million. In December 2011, Senior Housing Properties Trust purchased eight of Vi's rental communities.[9]
After the sale was announced, the SeniorCare Investor reported that Vi’s ownership “wanted to sell the entire entity,” but “the valuations from buyers for the entrance-fee CCRCs were not close to what the seller wanted to get” and that Vi “would put those on the backburner” to focus on selling the rentals.[10]
Vi has historically been owned by the Pritzker family trusts. In the last five years, the Pritzker family has sold over $12 billion in assets, presumably pursuant to the family's contentious settlement that splits up their business empire.[11] The National Real Estate Investor has speculated that the dissolution of the Pritzker family empire means that Vi “could be getting ready to exit the seniors housing market altogether.”[12]
[edit] Services
Vi operates two types of retirement communities: rental retirement communities and continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). Rental retirement communities offer amenities such as shared dining rooms and light weekly housekeeping, and most communities include some units for assisted living. There is no entrance fee, but residents pay a monthly fee tied to a yearly lease.[13]
CCRC’s offer a wider range of services than rental retirement communities. Most CCRC’s offer “continuing care programs” for qualifying seniors which allows them to move into assisted living, skilled nursing, and Alzheimer’s support programs as their health declines for the same monthly fee they had paid for their independent rental apartment, with certain additional ancillary charges. Monthly fees pay all operating expenses at the community, including medical care. In most of its CCRCs, Vi can adjust monthly fees with thirty to sixty days notice.
[edit] Quality of Care
Vi continuing care retirement communities offer several different levels of onsite care to its residents. Care availability depends on community location and can include assisted living, skilled nursing, memory support and Alzheimer's, etc. Each community undergoes state and county public health department inspections on a regular basis. In 2007, Florida regulators temporarily placed their Lantana facility on a state-wide nursing home watch list for "failing to provide adequate and appropriate health care and protective support to all residents," according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.[14]
[edit] Litigation
Resident at Vi’s La Jolla community filed a class action lawsuit against Vi in 2006.[15] Residents had accused the company of fraud and deceit, elder abuse, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, and violation of part of the California health and safety code.[16] Vi denied any wrongdoing, but reached a settlement with residents in 2008 that included, among other things:
- A lump sum payment to residents,
- A 3% annual ceiling on monthly fee increases through 2013 for residents who took part in the lawsuit, and a 4% ceiling for every subsequent year, and
- Improvements to the Wellness Center.[17]
[edit] Communities
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities | Rental Retirement Communities |
|---|---|
|
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[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.viliving.com/communities
- ^ “Billionaire rich with compassion,” The Denver Post, Oct. 30, 2005.
- ^ http://www.viliving.com/company
- ^ Form 8-K
- ^ Founder Penny Pritzker exits as chairman of Vi, a high-end retirement community chain, with focus on new investment firm PSP Capital Partners, Chicago Tribune, January 5, 2012.
- ^ Classic Residence by Hyatt Gives Cache to Seniors Housing, National Real Estate Investor, February 26, 2007.
- ^ "It's 'Vi' as in vitality, we think," San Jose Mercury News, June 13, 2010.
- ^ SeniorCare Investor, February 2011.
- ^ Form 8-K
- ^ SeniorCare Investor, September 2011.
- ^ Fortune's fate: Pritzker family agreement to divide billions in wealth comes to a close, Chicago Tribune, December 18, 2011.
- ^ Senior Housing Properties Trust Continues Its Acquisition Spree, National Real Estate Investor, September 23, 2011.
- ^ http://www.viliving.com/resources/frequently-asked-questions/continuing-care-retirement-communities
- ^ ”Keeping Watch,” Palm Beach Post, Dec. 31, 2007
- ^ “This is Luxury Retirement?” San Diego Reader, Dec. 27, 2007.
- ^ Third Amended Complaint
- ^ Settlement Agreement and Release
