EBENSBURG - Cambria County's nursing home will be on a fast-track this summer toward a sale, with marketers hoping to have a bid list for the county by August to meet a year-end sale goal.
Despite the economy, the Chicago-based real estate firm handling the sale says the market for nursing homes is strong - and 370-bed Laurel Crest could fetch $12 million to $15 million on the auction block.
"There are a lot of positives about Laurel Crest, particularly its bed count, because with a bed moratorium in Pennsylvania, they are tough to come by right now," said Isaac Dole of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. "I think a lot behind Laurel Crest's sale price is going to reflect its potential."
The county home, a siphon on county tax dollars the past three years and much of recent decades, was put up for sale last week after commissioners confirmed the home lost more than $1.2 million through May and was on pace to drop $2 million by year's end.
The results came on the heels of drastic 2008 job and cost cuts to stop several years of red ink, most recently a total of $8 million in losses in 2007 and 2008, according to Chief Clerk Michael Gelles.
From a real estate standpoint, Dole said Laurel Crest's profits and losses are one part of the picture.
It's a home that brings in about $24 million in revenue, but it has been costing $26 million to $27 million annually to run, Dole said. But with the home's census flat at 235 to 240 residents, its 130 empty beds offer an enticing opportunity to boost revenue, he added.
With that potential, Dole said, "someone well-versed in the industry will see the upside and come in and make it much more efficient - see ways to maximize that potential.
"You have a facility in pretty good shape that just underwent $8 million in interior and exterior work," Dole added. "It's a large nursing home with a lot of open space."
Dole said the market for nursing homes is "strong" right now. Two company-marketed nursing homes in rural Maine garnered nine bids recently, he said, although he believes Laurel Crest is more marketable.
Dole called a sale by Dec. 31 accomplishable.
The group plans to collect offers until Aug. 1 and then review them with the commissioners to narrow the field.
President Commissioner P.J. Stevens says the county won't just focus on the price tag but on finding an operator that fits the home, the number of beds an operator would designate for Medicaid residents and its track record on serving residents.
"The goal is to sell the home to a highly qualified entity who can meet residents' needs," Stevens said. "We're trying to make sure that home will be there for future residents, while relieving taxpayers and continuing to provide work to those who earn a livelihood there."
Mirror Staff Writer David Hurst is at 946-7457.
