Simpson House, a Philadelphia retirement and nursing home founded in 1865, is being sold
The buyer is an affiliate of Tryko Partners, a fast-growing firm based in Brick, N.J.
Simpson Senior Services has agreed to sell its namesake Simpson House, a nonprofit Philadelphia retirement home founded in 1865, to an affiliate of Tryko Partners, a New Jersey for-profit firm. The price was not disclosed.
The decision to sell followed years of financial losses at the West Philadelphia facility that were dissipating the assets of the nonprofit Simpson Senior Services, Simpson’s chief financial officer Ken Franiak told municipal bond analysts on a call Thursday. Simpson also operates two retirement communities in Chester County.
“Simpson House has experienced financial challenges, consistent with many other providers in long-term care,” Franiak said. “Pressures include staffing shortages, escalating labor costs, inflationary cost increases, declining census and occupancy levels, and reduced reimbursement rates.”
Simpson House includes 110 apartments, 56 personal-care units, and a 142-bed nursing home, according to a 2021 bond offering statement.
A spokesperson for Simpson House declined to say how many people work there. The sale is expected to be closed in the third quarter of this year.
The Ladies United Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the City of Philadelphia for the benefit of Aged and Infirm Members, founded what became Simpson House in a rented property on North 10th Street near Poplar Street, according a history on the Simpson House website. It has been in its current location since 1899.
Tryko, based in Brick, N.J., already owns Kearsley Rehabilitation & Center across Belmont Avenue from Simpson in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Kearsley traces its roots to the 18th Century.
The 2011 purchase of Kearsley marked the entry of real estate owner Tryko and its affiliated management company, Marquis Health Care Consulting, into Pennsylvania, Joe DeMattos, senior vice president of public affairs at Marquis, said at an April 10 state senate hearing.
DeMattos said Marquis now has 27 Pennsylvania campuses, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and residential properties for seniors. Marquis employs about 4,200 in the state, he said.
Last year, the company listed 21 owned or managed properties in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey in an application to assume management of Masonic Village at Burlington, a retirement community in Burlington County.
