A New York continuing care retirement / life plan community has been approved for sale to Life Care Services for $63 million after it had filed for bankruptcy protection for the third time in nine years in 2023.

The Harborside, in Port Washington, NY, which formerly was called Amsterdam of Harborside, opened in 2010 and previously had filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and again in 2021. The not-for-profit community is the sole member of Amsterdam House Continuing Care Retirement Community Inc., according to its website.

In May, the CCRC estimated its assets at $100 million to $500 million. Among its outstanding debt, The Harborside reportedly owes a total of approximately $29 million in entrance fee refunds to 30 residents or their families.

Court records show that Chief Judge Alan S. Trust of the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, approved the sale of the Long Island community on Dec. 27.

“He ruled that the $63 million bid from Des Moines, IA-based LCS was preferable as the least disruptive to residents because the Harborside would not close,” Newsday reported. “One rival bid for $36 million would have voided residents’ ownership contracts and had them pay rent. Another for $178 million would have had residents move out because the facility was to be shuttered.”

Two hundred residents would be affected by a closure, the media outlet reported. Ninety-six residents signed a petition in support of LCS.

“LCS is pleased with Judge Trust’s ruling, and we are actively mobilizing on the regulatory approvals and transition plans needed to complete the Harborside acquisition as soon as possible in 2024,” LCS spokeswoman Traci McBee told the McKnight’s Business Daily. “Under LCS ownership, the financial challenges of The Harborside can finally be put in the past, and we are happy about what this outcome means for the residents of the community.”

McBee added that LCS is committed to continuing to operate the Harborside as a CCRC and will honor current residents’ contracts “fully honored without modification.”

Not everyone is happy with the judge’s ruling, however. Kansas City, MO-based UMB Bank has filed an appeal, according to court records.