News
Foundry Commercial Represented Buyer in the Purchase of Property that Previously Housed Another Nursing School
Irvine, Calif. (March 17, 2023) – As nursing shortages become a growing challenge in the United States as more Baby Boomers age and put added stress on the healthcare system, it has remained difficult for nursing schools to expand capacity to meet rising demand. In a $43+ million transaction that coincided with the recently approved expansion, which added a third cohort to Concordia University Irvine’s Nursing program, the university purchased a 6.61-acre site featuring a three-story, 113,882-square-foot freestanding building that had previously housed another nursing program.
Ideally located in Irvine’s healthcare epicenter in the Spectrum District, and directly adjacent to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and Hoag Hospital, the property has served as the primary campus of the University of Massachusetts Global (formerly Brandman University) nursing program. Concordia’s expansion to the new site will directly contribute to its local community and regional healthcare needs by preparing world class nurses from its current program.
Located at 16355 Laguna Canyon Road, Concordia University Irvine plans to use the existing classroom and laboratory space on the building’s second floor as home-base for its Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, which had been housed off-site approximately 5 miles away during the nursing program’s 15-year history.
“The fact that the previous university had already built the infrastructure to quickly and effectively ramp up the next cohorts in our nursing program certainly made the Laguna Canyon Road property very attractive to us,” said Steve Strauch, Vice President of Finance and Business Operations for Concordia University Irvine.
Concordia University will temporarily lease back the third floor to University of Massachusetts Global for administrative offices and is discussing future plans for the first floor of the building.
Foundry Commercial’s Religious, Educational, and Non-Profit practice represented Concordia University Irvine in the transaction. The Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), financial extension of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, is financing the transaction. Foundry Senior Vice President Chris Bury and Senior Associate Charlie Howarth nurtured a relationship with Concordia University Irvine as they learned the university wanted to expand its healthcare programs. When it became clear the seller would be bringing the Laguna Canyon Road property to market, the two brought in Foundry’s Investment Advisory Group to help the university navigate the competitive bid process – including presenting the case to the Board of Regents – and work through negotiations to get the property under contract.
“The drumbeat of the office segment seems to be that transactions are really slow to return post-COVID; that there is little to no interest by entities to move into new office spaces,” said Bury, who is also a Partner with Foundry Commercial. “There are some markets that remain healthy, though, and Irvine is one of them. The community’s existing healthcare and medical office facilities – in tandem with the campus’ access to the region’s main transportation arteries – helped guide Concordia University Irvine to what we all pretty much consider a ‘perfect match’ real estate opportunity.”
With the added real estate, Concordia University Irvine will be readily equipped for the addition of the third nursing cohort recently approval by the California Board of Registered Nursing. The current enrollment is 300 students, and the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program can be completed in as little as 15 months. The university expects the new site of the nursing program will open in the summer.
For more information about Foundry Commercial’s Religious, Education, and Non-Profit Group, contact Chris Bury at chris.bury@foundrycommercial.com or 949-939-6238. For more information about Foundry Commercial’s Investment Advisory Group, contact Rick Helton at rick.helton@foundrycommercial.com or 615-324-0785. Future updates about the Concordia University Irvine nursing program move can be found at https://www.cui.edu/pressreleases.