Harborside retirement community facing more financial problems, letter says
The Harborside, formerly called the Amsterdam at Harborside, an upscale retirement community in Port Washington, continues to struggle financially, officials said. Credit: Howard Schnapp
An upscale retirement community in Port Washington is struggling to meet its financial obligations, a year after it exited bankruptcy protection from its creditors for the second time in less than a decade, officials said.
The Harborside, formerly called the Amsterdam at Harborside, has missed at least one monthly payment on the Industrial Development Agency bonds that were issued last year as part of a financial restructuring, according to a letter obtained by Newsday under the Freedom of Information Act.
The nonprofit retirement community, opened in 2010, also didn’t meet its occupancy goal for the first nine months of this year, the Oct. 27 letter states.
Since then, a second type of sales contract has been introduced with lower entrance and monthly service fees in return for limited nursing home services.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The Harborside retirement community in Port Washington, which has filed for bankruptcy protection twice, continues to struggle financially, officials said.
- Trouble recruiting new residents has contributed to financial problems at the facility, once called the Amsterdam at Harborside.
- Entrance fees for the "life plan" community, which provides all levels of care from independent living to nursing home care, can run as high as $2.2 million.
Eyeing 'strategic alternatives'
“The Harborside is currently engaged in discussions regarding its financial condition and occupancy levels” with the trustee for the bondholders, wrote Brooke Navarre, the Harborside’s president and CEO, in the letter obtained by Newsday.
She continued, “Additionally, the Harborside has engaged advisors to assist in its evaluation of various strategic alternatives.”
But a source familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity, said the Harborside is seeking a buyer or investors that can provide cash to cover operating costs while new residents are recruited.
Navarre addressed her letter to the Nassau IDA and UMB Bank in St. Louis, the bondholders’ trustee. The IDA issued bonds for the construction of the Harborside in 2007 and then additional bonds to help it emerge from bankruptcy twice.
“I, and I think the whole IDA board [last year], had great concerns about the future of [the Harborside],” said IDA chairman Richard Kessel. “I know they have made some major efforts to bring in new people, but from what I understand they aren’t being successful at this point. They have some serious financial problems,” he said last month.
IDA 'monitoring' status
Kessel and other IDA board members said they do not want to take an action that would harm the approximately 375 Harborside residents, many of whom are age 80 and over, and the workforce of about 200 people, including independent contractors and those provided by staffing agencies.
In voting against last year's rescue plan, IDA member Timothy Williams, a banker, told Harborside executives, “I can’t see it in the numbers you have given us that we’re not going to be back here in seven years” with a third bankruptcy filing.
In 2014, the IDA issued new bonds and granted $550,000 in additional property-tax breaks to help the Harborside after its first bankruptcy filing.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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