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June 29, 2001/Tamuz 8, 5761, Vol. 53, No.39
Benley files Chapter 11
BARRY COHEN
Editor
Less than seven months after Benley Manor opened its doors as a kosher retirement community in Glendale, it has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy documents.
Negotiations are underway for a company from Ohio to acquire the facility, according to Rabbi Alan Bright, partner in the Benley Manor project.
"We agreed to accept the offer," said Bright. The company wants to remain anonymous until the contract is accepted, he added.
If the sale goes through, the new facility would not be kosher, said Bright. "We are advising the families that we will be selling. They have an option to stay."
The Benley Manor facility has a capacity for 107 residents. Just 13 residents were living there June 26, Bright said.
"When the word got out (about the sale), residents ... were planning on leaving," said Mona Gower, Benley Manor activity and public relations director. One resident left June 24 and another plans to leave at the end of the month, she said.
The sale requires approval by the bankruptcy court, 21 days after the contract is submitted; the deal also would have to be accepted by the Benley Manor, LLC, board, Bright said.
Bright called the effort to create a kosher retirement home "premature. ... We gave it a spin and it did not work." Considerable sums of money have been lost, he said. "We needed to look at this from a financial standpoint."
Gower remarked that "the concept was really good." Benley Manor provided assisted living for those "living independently but needing extra help" with tasks such as bathing, dressing and shopping.
Dr. Mark Magier, executive director and certified assisted living facility manager, said he believes the new owners will make personnel changes. "My assumption is that they will bring in their own people," he said.
Magier, a clinical neuro-psychologist, said he may open up a local private practice.
Gower does not know how her role will change. "I will talk to the new owners and see what they want," she said.
Bright, who will remain in the community, is also rabbi/cantor of Beth Emeth Congregation of the Northwest Valley in Sun City West.
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