The Virginia Gazette
Printed July 19, 2016
by Steve Vaughan
A 48-unit assisted living and memory care facility on Jamestown Road that went into bankruptcy in November — about 60 days before it was scheduled to open — should come out of bankruptcy in early August, although it’s uncertain who will own it.
It’s the kind of facility that greater Williamsburg, with it’s aging population, will need more of in the future, according to area professionals in the senior living field.
Two facilities run by New Dawn Assisted Living, one in Richmond and one in James City County, are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Doug Greenspan, of Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC, of New York, which is handling the bankruptcy protection for New Dawn, based in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Williamsburg and Richmond properties are both newly constructed assisted living facilities. They are nearly identical in design and layout. Each property consists of three, one-story, structures, designed specifically as a memory care facilities, with each structure containing 16 units for a total of 48 units, according to Greenspan.
The Williamsburg facility is at 1807 Jamestown Road. An unfinished parking lot and knee-high grass marked the site Tuesday.
Bill Cassey, who heads up the Peninsula Area Agency on Aging, said assisted living facilities, particularly memory care units, are just the thing greater Williamsburg will need in the years ahead.
“They certainly are,” he said. “It would be a shame if we lost that facility before it even opened.”
Kathy Kammer, director of community relations for Williamsburg Landing, agreed with the need for assisted living and memory care units.
“There certainly is a need,” she said.
She noted that Williamsburg Landing did a needs assessment for the area before moving ahead with the $40 million expansion of its health care unit, much of it devoted to assisted living and memory care units, as well as adult day-care facilities.
Ben Puckett, executive vice president of Williamsburg Landing said, when he announced the expansion in March, that the area’s aging population is expected to grow.
“The population greater than 65 is projected to grow 44 percent between 2012 and 2020. We’re already seeing part of that increase, and there is more to come,” he said. “And that population will grow another 47 percent by 2030.”
According to Alzheimers.net there are 1,254 Alzheimer’s beds in Virginia. In Williamsburg there are four facilities that provide Alzheimer’s care, not counting New Dawn, which had already been added to their list.
When Williamsburg Landing expansion comes online in two years, there will be five.
According to Alzheimer’s.net, memory care in the Williamsburg area costs between $2,250 and $7,500 per month.
Greenspan said the Richmond facility was only weeks away from opening when the company filed bankruptcy.
“The Williamsburg facility was about 60 days from opening,” he said.
New Dawn has reached “stalking horse” agreement to sell the two properties, the Richmond facility for $11.5 million and the Jamestown Road facility for $7.5 million.
A stalking horse contract is an agreement to sell the property for a given price, if it does not draw a higher bid at auction, explained Greenspan.
Wednesday the company will be in bankruptcy court in Phoenix seeking approval of the stalking horse contracts and setting auction bid procedures. As drafted, the procedures call for submission of higher and better offers on Aug. 1 and an open auction on Aug. 3. The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona will approve the highest and best offer on Aug. 4.
That will coincide with the hearing for the court to confirm the company’s plan for reorganization. Approval of the sale and the organizational plan will conclude the bankruptcy, which was filed in November of last year.
“The signed contracts support our belief that these properties are valuable assets and that with the right management these properties can be very successful,” said Harold Bordwin, Keen-Summit’s Principal and Managing Director. “This is a great opportunity for investors and operators to acquire newly built assisted living facilities in strong markets with sound fundamentals.”
