Housing facilities get new owners

Local housing developments are coming under new ownership and management this year, but residents should not notice many changes.

Willow Manor Senior Apartments transferred ownership last week from RealAmerica LLC to The Michaels Organization (TMO). The sale was finalized on Feb. 28. Rent for residents is not expected to change under the new ownership.

Ownership will be under Willow Manor Senior Partners RA, LLC, which is an affiliate of TMO.

RealAmerica currently owns Forest Hills family apartment building in Gnaw Bone and Hawthorne Hills senior apartment building in Nashville. Those buildings will be under contract with TMO until the organization officially closes on the properties this summer. All three properties are a popular location for residents and have waiting lists.

TMO is based out of Camden, New Jersey and has been in business for nearly 50 years. They are the largest private-sector owner of affordable housing in the country, Vice President of Corporate Marketing Laura Zaner said.

They are also one of an “elite group” of property management companies to earn the Accredited Management Organization designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management, Zaner said.

“Our focus is first and foremost on our residents,” she said.

According to their website, the company focuses on “generating long-term value for (their) residents, communities, employers, partners and investors.”

TMO manages more than 60,000 units in at least 425 communities in 35 states. They oversee 146,000 residents.

RealAmerica is known for owning the properties which they develop and build for the long term. The company has owned Willow Manor since they built it in 2009.

This is the first time in its 26-year history that RealAmerica has sold apartments that they’ve developed.

“Our passion is developing, building, owning and managing affordable and attainable housing, so it is bittersweet to now sell these properties,” Chief Operating Officer Melanie Reusze said.

“However, we weighed the benefits of selling and realized that with this particular opportunity with TMO, we could develop and build much needed housing in more communities to levels we never thought possible.”

Reusze added that TMO has “an excellent reputation” in the affordable housing industry, which was a “major factor” in exploring the opportunity to sell.

TMO will continue to operate Willow Manor and all other properties they will purchase in a manner that is consistent with RealAmerica’s vision, emphasizing the importance of residents and their needs, Reusze said.

“This was a very important aspect to the transaction for us and we would not have considered the offer when TMO approached us had they not ensured us that they would continue to operate the properties with the same vision we have had,” she said.

Zaner said that residents should not expect noticeable changes, but they will now have access to some unique programs offered by Michaels.

One of those perks is a scholarship program for residents, which provides grants for college educations.

As for changes in rent, residents can also rest assured that nothing will change.

Willow Manor has a deed restriction on it that runs with the property where the rent is restricted under the IRS Section 42 Program, Reusze said. Under that restriction, rents must continue to comply under the Section 42 program into the future, even with new ownership, as they have since the property was built.

Notice of the ownership change was sent to Willow Manor residents in the middle of February.

In this transition, residents have expressed their concern of certain changes with one another.

Pamela Carroll has lived at Willow Manor since May of 2014 when she moved to Indiana from Florida. She described the housing community as a “wonderful place.”

She fears that with a larger corporation taking over, residents will feel more like a number than a person.

“I just hope that they remember that we’re people and we want to live in a safe place,” she said.

She said she hopes that TMO realizes that Brown County is a special place to live and that she hopes that the new owners respect that.

“You just don’t know who’s going to be at the helm and what kind of effect it will have — not only (at Willow Manor) but in Brown County as a whole. … Everyone’s on pins and needles,” she said.

“I hope that Michaels takes pride in it. This is our home, we want it to be clean and safe. We’ll have to see.”

The requirements to live in Hawthorne Hills and Willow Manor will remain the same under new ownership: residents must be at least 55 with no children living with them and make under a certain maximum income according to federal guidelines for household size. The maximum is different for every county, but it makes most seniors living on Social Security, a pension and some savings eligible for an apartment.

To make the $8.5 million Hawthorne Hills project possible, the Nashville Town Council granted RealAmerica a 10-year break on new property taxes — the first tax abatement it had ever approved. Through 2027, RealAmerica was to only pay taxes on the value of the vacant land, not on the value of the land with the new building on it, estimated at a $326,000 savings in 2016 when the apartment building opened.

It was unclear as of last week if the abatement will be transferred to TMO.

As far as employees in the buildings, Reusze said that RealAmerica worked with TMO to ensure that all employees end up with a job offer either with TMO or RealAmerica.

According to TMO’s vice president of management, nearly all employees who previously held positions under RealAmerica are making the transition to TMO.

The new manager of Willow Manor previously worked at another RealAmerica property.

“When Michaels acquires properties, we do so with respect for the legacy and hard work of the previous ownership,” Zaner said.

“With the intent of preserving the long-term affordability of these communities and ensuring that these communities stay high quality assets in the neighborhood where they are located for years to come.”