SEATTLE
U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke and top Chinese government officials were on hand today to celebrate the grand opening of a 60,000-square-foot senior living facility in Beijing built by Seattle’s Columbia Pacific and Sino-Ocean Land, one of China’s largest real estate developers.
The new facility, Senior Living L’Amore – Kaijian, is the first project constructed under a strategic partnership between Cascade Healthcare, a China-based affiliate of Columbia Pacific, and Sino-Ocean Land to build and jointly manage senior care facilities in China. The partnership between the two companies includes a pipeline of upcoming senior care projects in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities.
The attendance at today’s grand opening ceremony of U.S. Ambassador Locke and high-level Chinese government officials shows that both countries see senior care as a critical part of China’s future. The number of Chinese citizens over 60 years old is expected to more than double in coming decades, creating a pressing social issue that the Chinese government acknowledges will need the help of foreign companies to address.
In 2011, the Chinese government relaxed restrictions and began encouraging foreign companies to build senior care facilities. Months later, Cascade Healthcare was the first foreign-owned company to receive permission to build.
The facility opening today is located in Sino-Ocean’s Ocean Palace luxury residential housing community in the Yizhuang area of Beijing. The 110-bed facility will provide residential senior care services to Chinese seniors, adapting the best international standards of management and care to local Chinese cultural norms. Cascade Healthcare and Sino-Ocean Land each put up 50 percent of the registered capital of the new facility and will jointly oversee project operations.
The Chinese government leaders attending the grand opening were Dou Yupei, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China; and Li Hongbing, the Deputy Director-General of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.
Through a strategic partnership with Columbia Pacific, Emeritus Corp. (NYSE: ESC), a national leader in the U.S. assisted living industry, is providing Cascade Healthcare with support in planning and layout; interior design and furnishings; selection and purchasing of specialty equipment; training of facility executive directors, nurses and caregivers; development of operating policies and procedures; and successful integration of hospitality and healthcare services.
Sino-Ocean Land, headquartered in Beijing, was established in 1993 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK:03377) in September 2007. As one of the leading national developers in China, Sino-Ocean Land has achieved its nationwide expansion over the past 10 years, with projects in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Dalian, Hangzhou and other major Chinese cities.
Also attending the Aug. 21 opening in Beijing were Li Ming, President and CEO of Sino-Ocean Land; Nate McLemore, Managing Director of Columbia Pacific; and Granger Cobb, President and CEO of Emeritus Corp.
Columbia Pacific’s affiliate, Cascade Healthcare, opened its first senior care facility in China in late 2012 and in China, goes by the trade name Kaijian. The company’s first facility, Shanghai Kaijian Huazhan Senior Care Service, is 50,000 square feet, 100 beds and located in a residential neighborhood in the Xuhui District of Shanghai.
The facility that opened today in Beijing, in partnership with Sino-Ocean, is Cascade Healthcare’s second senior care building in China. Cascade will open a third facility, in the Pudong District of Shanghai, this fall.
About Columbia Pacific
Columbia Pacific is a Seattle-based company with significant real estate development and operating experience. Columbia Pacific’s principals and affiliates are responsible for creating more than 150,000 units of senior housing, including independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation services in the United States, Europe and Asia. Columbia Pacific’s Chairman, Daniel R. Baty, was one of the founders and is the current Chairman of the Board of Emeritus Corp. (NYSE: ESC), a national leader in the U.S. assisted living industry, and a co-founder and former Chairman of Holiday Retirement, one of the largest independent senior living companies in the world. In addition, Columbia Pacific founded and is the primary investor in Columbia Asia, one of the largest private hospital systems in Asia, with 23 hospitals in India and Southeast Asia. As part of its China plans, Columbia Pacific is not just building senior care facilities but has also developed a pipeline of hospital projects in several Chinese cities.
About Sino-Ocean Land
Founded in 1993, Sino-Ocean Land was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 03377) on Sept. 28, 2007 and has become one of the top ten Mainland real estate companies listed in Hong Kong. In March 2008, Sino-Ocean Land was selected as a constituent of the Hang Seng Hong Kong Composite Index and the Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corp Index. Sino-Ocean Land is mainly engaged in the development of mid- to high-end residential properties, premium office buildings, retail properties and serviced apartments. Based in Beijing, Sino-Ocean Land has a multi-regional and diversified portfolio of both development and investment properties. Sino-Ocean Land sold 18 million, 23 million and over 27 million square meters of real estate in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. As of June 2012, Sino-Ocean has a land bank of approximately 253 million square feet across 19 Chinese cities.
About Emeritus
Emeritus Senior Living is the largest assisted living and memory care provider in the United States, with the ability to serve nearly 50,000 residents. Over 30,000 employees support approximately 480 communities throughout 45 states coast to coast. Emeritus offers the spectrum of senior residential choices, care options, and life enrichment programs that fulfill individual needs and promote purposeful living during the aging process. Senior living service offerings include independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, home health care, and rehabilitation services. Emeritus experts provide insights on senior living, care, wellness, brain health, and family topics at www.emeritus.com, which also offers details on the organization’s family-focused philosophy and services. Emeritus’ common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESC.
CONTACT
U.S. Contact:
Pacific Public Affairs
Ashley Bach,
206-682-5066
ashley@pacificpub.com
or
China
Contact:
Cascade Healthcare
Serena Xie, +86-138-1825-1224