After eight months, Edgemere, a Lifespace continuing care retirement community in Dallas, is getting closer to reaching a bankruptcy agreement.
The CCRC filed for bankruptcy in April, citing challenges from managing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and responding to a winter storm in February 2021.
Edgemere now is looking to work with debtors on a plan to sell, Jeremy Johnson of Polsinelli, an attorney for Edgemere, told the McKnight’s Business Daily on Friday. A mutually agreed on plan will be filed with the court on Tuesday, he said.
Edgemere has withdrawn its restructuring plan, even as a lawsuit continues against its landlord, InterCity Investments, to reduce past rent payments, including late fees. Johnson said that the lawsuit currently still is in the discovery phase.
Based in West Des Moines, IA, the nonprofit Lifespace Communities operates 17 communities in seven states. Six of them are in Texas.
The company will play a large part in the bankruptcy agreement, Johnson said. Some of the money that Lifespace invests will go to bondholders, and some will go to residents, he added. Former residents reportedly are owed $37 million, whereas current residents’ deposits total $107 million. Additionally, Lifespace has offered to manage the Edgemere property after a sale, Johnson said.
“The bondholders have a potential buyer. …We’re not really sure who the buyer will be, whether there will be any bidding or not,” he said. “That might be a stalking horse.”
Wilmington, DE-based Bay 9 Holdings has expressed interest in buying the property for $48.5 million.
Edgemere officially will withdraw its restructuring plan Tuesday. If the court approves the amended bondholder plan, it will be voted on Dec. 15. If all goes well, the bankruptcy should be finalized in mid-January, according to Johnson.
