Expiration of $22.5 million Certificate of Need ends Geer’s quest for new nursing facility

“The project became no longer feasible.”
— Shaun Powell, CEO/CFO of Geer Village

NORTH CANAAN — A five-year effort by Geer Village Senior Community to either build a new, state-of-the-art nursing home or renovate its existing, aging facility has ended with the expiration of its $22.5 million Certificate of Need, issued in 2018 by the state Department of Social Services.

Although the original certificate was valid through July 2023, Geer was granted a five-month extension to the end of 2023 to either re-apply as is or with modifications.

Christine Stuart, Department of Social Services deputy director of communications, confirmed last week there are currently “no CONs pending for Geer. The one they had pending expired in 2023 and they have not resubmitted.”

Shaun Powell, Geer’s CEO/CFO, said devastating fallout from the global pandemic, including rising construction costs, supply chain issues and a decline in consumer demand which “decimated the long-term care industry” contributed to Geer’s decision to scuttle both the original plan to construct a new nursing home on the campus or to renovate its aging 120-bed facility.

The original, two-phase project was being supported through a $2.2 million grant from the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to cover costs for design work and architectural plans.

Under the original proposal, the new 80,000 square foot nursing facility would have been situated on the southern 45 acre portion of the North Canaan campus.

Phase Two called for converting the original nursing home into 30 affordable residences similar to the one-bedroom apartments currently offered at Beckley House on campus.

“We were close to shovel ready,” Powell said. “We started the design phase as the pandemic unfolded” and the quest to obtain HUD financing was underway. Supply chain issues, said the Geer administrator, raised the cost of the project by about 20%.

“HUD requires guaranteed maximum pricing,” Powell said. “However, supply chain issues prohibited vendors from offering that, so the project became no longer feasible.”

Dispelling rumors of a sale

In recent years, Geer Village has downsized its assets, including the liquidation of most of its real estate holdings.

“Being a landlord is not the nature of our business,” said Powell, noting that “the entire nursing home industry is in consolidation.”

In fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Geer also permanently shuttered its Adult Day Center after 42 years of providing seniors across Northwest Connecticut with an alternative to more expensive home care.

Powell dispelled recent rumors which surface periodically that Geer is looking to sell its operations.

“As of right now, Geer is not actively seeking to sell but is pursuing marketing collaboration to increase campus census and get the word out about available services,” the Geer CEO explained.

The current campus census is in the 70% to 73% range, he said, slightly lower than the state average.

Connecticut’s nursing home occupancy rate has been declining in recent years.

According to OPM statistics, after a sharp decrease in occupancy from 2019 to 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average nursing facility occupancy rate in Connecticut was 84% as of Sept. 30, 2023.

Future plans hinge on pending state report

Powell did not rule out the future possibility of a scaled-down renovation focusing on a reconfiguration of nursing home rooms and available beds at the circa 1969 facility.

“Connecticut is currently re-evaluating the geographic long-term bed capacity across the state,” he said. “The results will in part drive ultimate bed capacity.”

Future changes in bed capacity and/or major building modifications, he said, would require a new certificate from the state.

“Any structural changes would be confined to the current footprint of the building,” he said.

At the time of Geer’s $22.5 million certificate, the nonprofit organization also received a $2.2 million grant from the state OPM for design work on the original construction project.

According to OPM spokesman Chris Collibee, the Nonprofit Grant Program is 100% reimbursement based, so no entity receives funding for work not already completed.

“Geer was awarded $2.2 million but only received $802,343.61 and never drew down the remaining $1,397,656.39,” said Collibee. “That amount was unencumbered and part of the total $35.5 million made available to fund Round 9 of NGP.

Geer Village is a nonprofit organization encompassing five 501(c)(3) entities: Geer Village Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Geer Village Lodge, Geer Village Corporation, Geer Village Beckley House and Geer Village Foundation.