Glen Arden is a Goshen-based, high-end retirement community that has been mired in financial distress for years and failed to pay local taxes since 2021.
Bethel Communities Management proposed to buy the troubled company last year, on the heels of successfully turning around a bankrupt retirement community in Westchester County.
The proposed purchase has no cash involved and—if it comes through—will result in Bethel’s takeover of almost all Glen Arden assets and liabilities, including the outstanding bond balance owed to IDA and back taxes owed to Orange County, Town of Goshen, Village of Goshen, and Goshen Central School District.
In 1998, IDA issued a tax-exempt bond of $28 million to Glen Arden to finance the construction of its facilities and the interior build-out.
By obtaining the IDA approval on a bond re-issuance, Bethel takes on Glen Arden’s responsibility to repay the outstanding balance, which is around $13 million.
As to the back taxes, a tentative repayment plan offered by the buyer indicates 20 percent due at closing, with the rest to be paid in monthly installments over several years.
The IDA approval is contingent upon Bethel reaching an agreement with the aforementioned local taxing districts.
The ownership change is expected to be smooth, as Bethel has been managing Glen Arden under an agreement since 2019.
Once changing hands, the retirement community will also bear a new name, Knolls at Goshen.
Bethel’s turnaround plan is to double the number of occupied independent living units in four years, from 62 now to 99 by the end of 2024 and 126 by the end of 2027.
Glen Arden’s financial problems came to the forefront in 2019 when a state regulatory body suspended its license after determining it was financially insolvent.
CCRC is a high-end retirement community that offers various levels of care onsite, from independent living to skilled nursing care, to accommodate the changing needs of its residents.
To move into such a community—there are only about a dozen or so CCRCs in the entire New York state—applicants often pay one-time admission charges between $200,000 and $1 million, plus monthly fees ranging from $2,000 to $5,000.
Following the suspension, Glen Arden reached an agreement with the CCRC Council that it must hire an outside management company before continuing operations.
By the end of 2019, Glen Arden and its parent company Elant entered into an agreement with Bethel to manage the retirement community’s day-to-day operation.
The approval came with a regulatory concession that allows Bethel to gradually fill up the minimum reserve funds of the retirement community required under the state law over five years.
Bethel must also provide monthly financial reports to the oversight agency as a new owner.
