Owner says more people moving in ‘pretty quickly’

UPDATE: Independent senior facility Camden Hills Villa auction is canceled

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 2:00pm

    CAMDEN — Camden Villa owner Joe Goudreau said Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 9, that his business, the Camden Hills Villa, Inc., an independent senior facility in downtown Camden, would not be auctioned off. Keenan Auction Company, of South Portland, said in an email: “Real Estate Foreclosure Auction 17-157, the 25-Unit Independent Living Facility and Commercial Waterfront Lot, located at 51 Mechanic Street and 4 Knowlton Street, Camden, Maine has been CANCELLED and will not be taking place on 8/16/17.”

    “I was able to work something out with the lender,” said Goudreau. “And, it’s business as usual.”

    Goudreau said he “worked it out with Camden National Bank” and that he maintains ownership of the deed to the Villa. 

    Goudreau also owns the nearby Knox Mill, also on Mechanic Street, and which he has converted to apartments.

    “That one is going smoothly,” he said.

    “My residents and my employees have been amazing and I thank them for their patience and belief in me,” he said.

    There are approximately 14 residents living in the Camden Villa, but Goudreau said more are moving in this month.


     

    An online notice of a pending auction of the Camden Hills Villa, Inc., an independent senior living facility in downtown Camden, has been posted by Keenan Auction Company.  The auction, which also includes a one-acre lot across the Megunticook River from the villa, is scheduled for Aug. 16 at 11 a.m.

    According to Stefan Keenan, his client, Camden National Bank, is initiating the foreclosure sale on a commercial mortgage.

    Camden Villa owner Joe Goudreau released a statement about the auction on July 17:

    “We have had a long and good relationship with Camden National Bank and have been working with them for several months about the Villa's financing," said owner, Joe Goudreau. "We were surprised to read about the auction plan, and in fact only heard about it the day before your story ran – perhaps from the same source.

    "We expect to satisfactorily resolve our CNB discussions before mid-August. Meanwhile, the Villa is operating with full services and staff. I believe our residents and their families would tell you that their welfare, comfort, and activities have not been affected in any way by this matter.

    "We've operated the Villa in Camden since 2011, and prior to that our family had been in the senior services business in Bangor for 20 years. Occupancy rates continually change. Last summer the Villa was at 100 percent. The first quarter of 2017 occupancy was down some, but over the past several months we've been welcoming many new and returning residents."

     


     

    The tenants are not going to be evicted by the sale, Keenan said. Whoever buys the building, which is on the corner of Knowlton and Mechanic streets, just above the Knox Mill on the Megunticook River, will have the opportunity to work out the terms of leases.

    Keenan said he understood that while there are 25 units in the building, there are but 14 residents there, “and a lot of vacant units.”

    The 25-unit facility and additional waterfront commercial lot are considered Parcel 1 and Parcel 2 and are described as follows:

    Auction Parcel 1, 51 Mechanic Street
    Consists of a 1.19+/- acre corner parcel with 500+/- ft. along Mechanic St., 120+/- ft. along Knowlton St., and 530+/- ft. along the Megunticook River. Improving the site is a 25,818+/-SF 25-unit independent living facility.

    The first floor of the 4-story building is designed with a large gathering hall, lounge area, dining room with access to the riverside deck, large kitchen, salon, and a central elevator. The upper floors contain 25 private rooms, each with a full bath. There are (3) 1-bedroom units, (22) studio units, 17 of which have kitchenettes. Each floor has a common kitchenette, laundry room, and sitting area. Other features include, a security system, climate control thermostats in each room, Internet access, water and mountain views, handicap accessible walkways surrounding the property, outdoor sitting areas, a large parking lot with 2 parking spaces for each unit. The location is convenient to nearby shopping, library and churches, 5 miles from the nearest hospital and 1 block from the Camden Fire Department. Reference Tax Map 120, Lot 46.

    Auction Parcel 2, 4 Knowlton Street
    Consists of a 1.07+/- acre parcel with 253+/- ft. along Knowlton St., and 558+/- ft. along the Megunticook River. The site has 9,000+/- SF of paved parking and a small storage shed. It has a painted white fence around the perimeter, and a 10'x60' riverside deck with terraced lawn and stonewalls leading to the shorefront. Reference Tax Map 120, Lot 47.

    Camden Hills Villa was established in 2011, when Joseph Goudreau, owner of Camden Hills Villa, Inc., acquired the 51 Mechanic Street property in a foreclosure auction following default of its former owner, Knox Mill Properties, LLC. Principals of that LLC were Walter Skayhan, Stephen Geppi and Richard Pineau, of Baltimore, Maryland. They had acquired the entire Knox Mill complex from Bank of America.

    In 2011, Camden Hills Villa, Inc., acquired a building permit from Camden renovate 51 Mechanic Street, turning former MBNA offices into 26 living quarters. The $533,200 project resulted in the Camden Hills Villa, which was marketed to the elderly as a full-service family retirement inn, with amenities such as internet access, common areas, water and mountain views, handicap accessible walkways surrounding the property, outdoor sitting areas and more.

    The building had originally been a 1911-built mill that was renovated in the early 1990s for a Kodak Corporation digital image workshops, and then acquired up by MBNA for corporate offices. In 2011, it was listed with a $800,000, and in a recent 2017 revaluation, the town assessed it at $862,800.

    Attempts to reach Camden Hills Villa management staff have been unsuccessful so far.


     

    Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657