Hicks Ventures, Artemis Form $100M JV to Develop Medical and Behavioral Health Hospitals

Real estate firms Hicks Ventures and Artemis Real Estate Partners are collaborating on a $100 million joint venture (JV) to develop between 18-20 care facilities that include behavioral health hospitals.

The JV – which will also encompass inpatient rehabilitation facilities – brings together the two firms who each have a sizable presence developing properties in a number of sectors, including health care.

Based in Houston, Hicks Ventures also develops office and hotel space and has committed over $115 million for acquiring, developing and redeveloping properties since it was founded in 2007. The firm has also completed over $339 million of lease transactions since its inception.

For Chevy Chase, Maryland-based Artemis, the firm specializes in equity and debt investments nationwide, focusing on areas including multifamily, industrial, office, retail, hospitality and senior housing, in addition to health care. Founded in 2009, Artemis has raised approximately $7 billion of capital.

“This joint venture will give our Operator Partners surety of close and execution,” Patrick Hicks, the founder and CEO of Hicks Ventures, said in a press release. “More importantly, it will allow us to perform multiple unit facility transactions with our Operator Partners that will generate great efficiencies and cost savings.”

The JV project between Hicks Ventures and Artemis is estimated to be worth around $400 million.

It has not been disclosed how many of the JV facilities will be behavioral health hospitals.

“We are excited to partner with the Hicks Ventures team in the emerging [Intensive Rehabilitation Facility] and [Behavioral Health Hospital] spaces,” Kevin Nishimura, a principal at Artemis, added in the press release. “We highly value the Hicks team’s past development expertise and track record in the space, combined with their deep, existing tenant relationships.”

Pre-pandemic, behavioral health real estate had already become a hot market, attributed to the uptick in demand nationwide for behavioral health services and fueled by the presence of investors such as SABRA Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) and Wellness Real Estate Partners. COVID has only accelerated the busy activity, as it has brought other players such as Prevarian Companies into the space.

Among some of the more notable news in the behavioral health real estate market occuring within the last year has been real estate services and management firm Colliers brokering a 10-year lease deal in Riverside County, California for addiction treatment provider We Level Up. Also in 2021, Helios Healthcare Advisors recapitalized a portfolio of 32 behavioral health facilities that was owned by an affiliate of real estate firm CapGrow Partners.