CHICAGO, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ziegler, a national boutique investment bank, is pleased to announce the successful closing of the Series 2026 Bonds for the benefit of St. James Place of Baton Rouge (St. James Place).
St. James Place is a Louisiana not-for-profit corporation that was established in March 1980. St. James Place operates a lifecare, entrance-fee based continuing care retirement community (CCRC) containing independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing units located on a 49-acre campus (the “Community”) approximately one mile from Louisiana State University. When the Community opened in 1983, it became the first CCRC in the state of Louisiana and remains the only CCRC in Baton Rouge, the state capital.
The Community currently consists of 210 independent living residences, 48 assisted living residences, 15 assisted living memory care units, 62 skilled nursing beds and 26 memory support nursing beds. Common area amenities include a fishing lake, fitness center, enclosed heated swimming pool, salon, café, two dining venues, two auditoriums, a meditation chapel, library, and additional resident gathering spaces.
St. James Place will use the proceeds of the Series 2026 Bonds, together with other funds, to refund the outstanding Series 2015A Bonds to achieve annual debt service savings; provide for the reimbursement of certain previously incurred capital expenditures; fund a debt service reserve fund; and to pay the costs of issuance. Ziegler assisted St. James Place in securing a rating of BB+ (stable) from Firch Ratings on the Series 2026 Bonds. The Series 2026 Bonds are fixed rate, tax-exempt bonds structured to provide level annual debt service with a final maturity in 2045, matching the final maturity of the refunded bonds.
“Rich Scanlon helped us put together a great team and shepherded us expertly through the entire process. Ziegler earned their keep when representing us in the market, getting us the best rate possible,” said Dick Wager, President and Chief Executive Officer for St James Place.
Rich Scanlon, Senior Managing Director, Senior Living Finance at Ziegler stated, “Ziegler and St. James Place have maintained a strong relationship since our underwriting of the Series 2015 Bonds. We were fortunate to find an attractive capital markets environment, aided by the Fitch BB+ rating, which allowed St. James Place to refund their 2015A Bonds and generate $337,000 in annual debt service savings through 2045. Ziegler looks forward to remaining a strategic partner of St. James Place in the coming years as they consider additional opportunities to provide a high level of service to seniors in the Baton Rouge market area.”
Ziegler is the nation’s leading underwriter of financing for not-for-profit senior living providers. Ziegler offers creative, tailored solutions to its senior living clientele, including investment banking, financial risk management, merger and acquisition services, seed capital, FHA/HUD, capital and strategic planning as well as senior living research, education, and communication.
For more information about Ziegler, please visit us at www.ziegler.com.
1 Based on full credit given to senior managers of lead-managed underwriting principal volume for senior living transactions completed nationally. Rankings and amounts through LSEG data as of 12/31/25. Note: For-profit bond financings are excluded.
About Ziegler:
Ziegler is a privately held, national boutique investment bank, capital markets, and proprietary investments firm. It has a unique focus on healthcare, senior living, and education sectors, as well as general municipal and structured finance. Headquartered in Chicago with regional and branch offices throughout the U.S., Ziegler provides its clients with capital raising, strategic advisory services, fixed income sales, underwriting and trading as well as Ziegler Credit, Surveillance, and Analytics. To learn more, visit www.ziegler.com.
Certain comments in this news release represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This client’s experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, nor is it indicative of future performance or success. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, in particular, the overall financial health of the securities industry, the strength of the healthcare sector of the U.S. economy and the municipal securities marketplace, the ability of the Company to underwrite and distribute securities, the market value of mutual fund portfolios and separate account portfolios advised by the Company, the volume of sales by its retail brokers, the outcome of pending litigation, and the ability to attract and retain qualified employees.
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