More tax breaks sought by new owner of The Harborside retirement community
The Harborside retirement community in Port Washington seen in March 2023. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The new owner of The Harborside retirement community is seeking an additional 20 years of tax breaks on top of the tens of millions of dollars in tax savings it has already received.
Focus Healthcare Partners LLC, a Chicago-based investment group, has asked Nassau County for property tax savings over the next two decades and a sales-tax exemption of up to $1.8 million on the purchase of construction materials and equipment for $28 million in proposed building renovations. Focus also wants up to $800,000 off the mortgage recording tax.
The request to the county’s Industrial Development Agency comes after the Port Washington facility saved more than $35 million in property taxes and other taxes since first securing the agency’s help in 2007, according to state records.
Focus is purchasing The Harborside out of bankruptcy for $86 million.
The community has filed for bankruptcy three times in the past 10 years. The IDA has provided help repeatedly, including in June to a previous buyer who wasn’t able to complete its deal because of a regulatory dispute with the state Department of Health. Tax incentives don't automatically continue when a property changes hands.
The Harborside is “basically out of money and needs to have a new operator or there will be dire consequences,” said Daniel P. Deegan, a real estate attorney for Focus, during the IDA board meeting on Wednesday. “There is very little cash flow there and they’re running out of time to try to save this.”
The board voted unanimously to begin negotiating a tax-aid package with Focus.
Responding to the IDA's action, Focus co-founder Curt Schaller told Newsday on Thursday, "We're grateful to the Nassau County IDA for their openness to discuss our plans to create a best-in-class senior living community in Port Washington as well as the dozens of good-paying jobs this facility will support."
The Harborside will be converted to a for-profit independent living community now that the nursing home, assisted living and dementia care units have been shut down by the current owner. There are 229 independent living apartments on the property but only 24% were occupied as of Thursday, according to a Focus spokesman.
Joshua Schwartz, a Focus vice president, said 58 residents continue to occupy the apartments and have been provided with new leases to review. The leases stipulate that monthly rent, which averages $6,200 and is below the market rate, will not increase by more than 5% per year.
“We’re expecting all 58 to sign” a new lease, he said on Wednesday, adding that Focus plans to offer three meals a day instead of the current one meal.
Focus has turned around two continuing care retirement communities in Illinois and one in Virginia that were in financial distress by dropping their large entrance fee to move into the facility in favor of monthly rent. With CCRCs, seniors usually move into an independent living apartment and transfer to a nursing home, assisted living or dementia care on the same site when their health declines.
If The Harborside receives additional tax aid, the Port Washington Union Free School District would be among the affected taxing jurisdictions. The district, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Thursday.
Focus has promised to employ at least 46 people at The Harborside within three years. Many of the jobs would pay between $41,600 and $100,000 per year, according to the application for IDA help.
Nearly 80 people worked at the facility before its skilled care units closed on March 14, based on a report by current CEO Brooke Navarre to the bankruptcy court.
The Focus buyout offers the best chance of preventing a complete shutdown of The Harborside, said IDA chairman William Rockensies. The acquisition "may finally bring lasting stability for the remaining residents," he told Newsday on Thursday.
The new owner of The Harborside retirement community is seeking an additional 20 years of tax breaks on top of the tens of millions of dollars in tax savings it has already received.
Focus Healthcare Partners LLC, a Chicago-based investment group, has asked Nassau County for property tax savings over the next two decades and a sales-tax exemption of up to $1.8 million on the purchase of construction materials and equipment for $28 million in proposed building renovations. Focus also wants up to $800,000 off the mortgage recording tax.
The request to the county’s Industrial Development Agency comes after the Port Washington facility saved more than $35 million in property taxes and other taxes since first securing the agency’s help in 2007, according to state records.
Focus is purchasing The Harborside out of bankruptcy for $86 million.
The community has filed for bankruptcy three times in the past 10 years. The IDA has provided help repeatedly, including in June to a previous buyer who wasn’t able to complete its deal because of a regulatory dispute with the state Department of Health. Tax incentives don't automatically continue when a property changes hands.
The Harborside is “basically out of money and needs to have a new operator or there will be dire consequences,” said Daniel P. Deegan, a real estate attorney for Focus, during the IDA board meeting on Wednesday. “There is very little cash flow there and they’re running out of time to try to save this.”
The board voted unanimously to begin negotiating a tax-aid package with Focus.
Responding to the IDA's action, Focus co-founder Curt Schaller told Newsday on Thursday, "We're grateful to the Nassau County IDA for their openness to discuss our plans to create a best-in-class senior living community in Port Washington as well as the dozens of good-paying jobs this facility will support."
The Harborside will be converted to a for-profit independent living community now that the nursing home, assisted living and dementia care units have been shut down by the current owner. There are 229 independent living apartments on the property but only 24% were occupied as of Thursday, according to a Focus spokesman.
Joshua Schwartz, a Focus vice president, said 58 residents continue to occupy the apartments and have been provided with new leases to review. The leases stipulate that monthly rent, which averages $6,200 and is below the market rate, will not increase by more than 5% per year.
“We’re expecting all 58 to sign” a new lease, he said on Wednesday, adding that Focus plans to offer three meals a day instead of the current one meal.
Focus has turned around two continuing care retirement communities in Illinois and one in Virginia that were in financial distress by dropping their large entrance fee to move into the facility in favor of monthly rent. With CCRCs, seniors usually move into an independent living apartment and transfer to a nursing home, assisted living or dementia care on the same site when their health declines.
If The Harborside receives additional tax aid, the Port Washington Union Free School District would be among the affected taxing jurisdictions. The district, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Thursday.
Focus has promised to employ at least 46 people at The Harborside within three years. Many of the jobs would pay between $41,600 and $100,000 per year, according to the application for IDA help.
Nearly 80 people worked at the facility before its skilled care units closed on March 14, based on a report by current CEO Brooke Navarre to the bankruptcy court.
The Focus buyout offers the best chance of preventing a complete shutdown of The Harborside, said IDA chairman William Rockensies. The acquisition "may finally bring lasting stability for the remaining residents," he told Newsday on Thursday.
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.
This is a modal window.
Fatal fire at Medford cat sanctuary ... She's not Ms. Rachel, but don't tell the kids ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Top Stories
This is a modal window.
Fatal fire at Medford cat sanctuary ... She's not Ms. Rachel, but don't tell the kids ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Most Popular
