HUNTINGTON BEACH — The developers of a massive senior housing project about a mile away from the beach secured more than $252 million in financing, highlighting the growing demand for senior housing in Orange County.
The Bluhm Family Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Chicago real estate and casino billionaire Neil Bluhm, and Development Management Associates are developing The Marisol, a three-story, 214-unit assisted living and memory care community at 2120 Main St.
The project replaces a portion of the Seacliff Office Park site, originally acquired in 2019 by Harbinger South Bay Partners, which purchased the five-building office complex from The Colton Company for $40.8 million. That deal paved the way for the new senior community, according to CoStar.
The 11-acre future senior housing site is a block away from Huntington Beach High School and across the street from the Seacliff Village retail stores.
JLL and HJ Sims arranged financing through the California Public Finance Authority, which includes a $165.7 million Series A senior bond, a $74.3 million Series B subordinate bond and a $12.1 million Series C subordinate bond, company officials said in a news release.
Company officials said HJ Sims served as the lead manager for the senior bonds. JLL Securities acted as co-manager and assisted in placing the subordinate debt with investors.
Growing Senior Demand
With Orange County’s population aging and the so-called silver tsunami on the horizon, senior housing developments are scarce and in hot demand.
According to the State’s Department of Aging, there are more than 450,000 seniors aged 65 and older in Orange County, about 14% of the county’s current population (see page 3).
By 2045, that number is projected to increase to 17.3% — or about one in three residents will be 65 or older in Orange County.
Department officials said that as more adults reach retirement, they will face new economic, social, health and lifestyle challenges associated with aging. Housing will be one of them.
“The slowdown in new seniors housing construction has created a supply-demand imbalance that is driving strong performance for existing and new properties in the sector,” JLL officials said in a news release.
The financing shows growing confidence in senior housing, which has become one of commercial real estate’s strongest sectors due to demographic trends and market shifts.
Americans are living longer, and fewer new communities have been built in recent years. This has tightened supply while demand keeps rising, according to JLL’s 2026 Seniors Housing and Care Investor Survey and Trends Outlook, released in March.
The report found that the sector had its best year in a decade, with transaction volume reaching $24 billion by the end of 2025. Occupancy rose to nearly 90% in both major and secondary markets.
At the same time, developers have cut back on new construction. JLL reported that new senior housing starts dropped 77% in primary markets and 62% in secondary markets from recent highs. With fewer projects underway, average monthly rents have risen to $5,479, almost 29% above pre-pandemic levels.
“The seniors housing sector is experiencing a powerful convergence of favorable
conditions,” Bryan Lockard, executive managing director and head of healthcare and alternative real estate at JLL Value & Risk Advisory, said in the report.
The Marisol
The Marisol senior assisted living and memory care project plans to take advantage of these trends in one of Orange County’s coastal areas.
Momentum Senior Living is managing the property.
Unlike other senior housing options, assisted living and memory care facilities have more staff and charge a monthly fee that covers the apartment, meals and assistance with daily living activities such as dressing and medication management.
The community will offer memory care studios and one- and two-bedroom assisted living apartments up to 1,100 square feet.
City-approved plans show a resort-style campus with outdoor gathering spaces and wellness amenities, including dining venues, an art studio, a movie theater and a golf simulator.
Other features include landscaped courtyards, walking paths, social terraces and sensory gardens.
Renderings also show a pool courtyard, outdoor dining areas, fitness spaces and butterfly and pollinator gardens.
The community is expected to open in 2028.
