Two nursing-home projects in Forsyth County appear set to move forward in 2010, in part because of federal stimulus money.
Lutheran Services for the Aging said it has secured a $27 million, long-term financing package with BB&T Corp. through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The not-for-profit group, based in Salisbury, also said it is buying a 12.1-acre site on Waterworks Road near Winston Lake Park from the city of Winston-Salem for $248,800. The land will be the site of a replacement nursing home for the eastern part of the city.
That deal, expected to close this month, will be paid for with existing money, said Mary Ann Johnson, the director of community and foundation relations for the group.
The stimulus money will be used on three projects, including helping to finance the $10.5 million the agency spent on buying The Elms, an assisted-living home off Harper Road in Clemmons, in December 2008. The other projects are a new nursing home in Wilmington and buying land in Hickory for future expansion.
Gaining the stimulus money required authorization by the N.C. Medical Care Commission and the N.C. Local Government Commission.
Ted Goins, the president of the agency, said he is hopeful of securing up to $30 million in a second phase of stimulus funding by mid-2010.
That financing would help pay for the building of a 117-bed replacement nursing home on the Waterworks site and a 100-bed nursing home in Clemmons adjacent to The Elms. The agency received state regulatory approval for the combined $22 million projects in April.
If the agency gains the second phase of stimulus money, it plans to begin construction on the Waterworks site in 2010 and the Clemmons site in 2011.
As a component of the federal stimulus bill, the bank-qualified bonds encourage banks to provide financing for "shovel-ready" projects. The agency is getting a 2 percent interest rate with the financing, according to Annette Conrad, its chief financial officer.
Goins said it has other financing options for the nursing homes, but they are not as attractive.
John Franklin, the managing director of BB&T Capital Markets, said that "the advantages of this type of capital, combined with the agency's current capital needs and excellent record of financial stability, made it a perfect candidate for the program," Franklin said.
Lutheran Services has 120 employees at Lutheran Home Winston-Salem on Old Walkertown Road. Parts of the existing home are 50 years old, and it needs to be replaced, Goins said.
The group plans to hire 110 employees for the Clemmons center, giving it 185 employees in the village. Goins said that the addition of the nursing home will give residents of The Elms a place next door to go to when they need more care.
The Elms and the planned nursing home are near the site where Novant Health Inc. plans to build a 50-bed hospital in Clemmons.
The initial plan for the Waterworks site also involved Goler Community Development Corp.
The city was going to trade 12.1 acres of city land to Goler in exchange for 14.6 acres that Goler owned. Goler would then have sold the 12.1 acres to Lutheran Services, said Derwick Paige, the deputy city manager.
Lutheran Services' interest in the 14.6-acre site waned when it decided the land was too long and narrow for convenient use by residents. Goler officials could not be reached for comment.
Paige said that the city plans to form a citizen advisory committee for feedback on what to do with the money it is receiving from Lutheran Services.
"We're trying to determine whether to add the Goler land to the park area or add amenities to the properties we already own there," Paige said.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
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