Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

N.J. firm buys area retirement communities

Hearthstone Manors in Mount Joy, Lebanon, now Juniper Villages

The Hearthstone Manor retirement communities in Mount Joy and Lebanon have been sold for $18.5 million, it was announced Tuesday.

The buyer is Juniper Communities, which has renamed the sites Juniper Village at Mount Joy and Juniper Village at Lebanon.

Juniper Communities, based in Bloomfield, N.J., is a privately held company established in 1988.

It runs assisted living, independent living, memory care and skilled nursing homes.

Having acquired the two sites from the Bricker Group on Dec. 28, Juniper Communities now operates 18 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Colorado.

The Hearthstone Manor purchase comes after Juniper Communities got a capital injection through a transaction with LTC Properties.

Juniper Communities sold six of its retirement communities to LTC for $94 million, then leased them back so it could continue to operate them.

LTC, of Westlake Village, Calif., is a self-administered real estate investment trust. It primarily invests in long-term care and other health care related facilities.

Juniper Communities said the funds from the LTC deal will help it acquire three more properties in the first quarter.

Juniper Village at Mount Joy, off Union School Road, opened in 2000.

It has a personal-care building for 72 residents and 16 cottages for independent living.

Juniper Village at Mount Joy will mark its new owner and new name with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 5 p.m.

tmekeel@lnpnews.com