ASBURY, Iowa — A Dubuque County judge has expressed his support for the proposed sale of a pair of senior living properties previously run by a Dubuque nonprofit.
District Court Judge Thomas Bitter issued his ruling Monday after a hearing held at the Dubuque County Courthouse. The move paves the way for the sale of Luther Manor Properties, located at 3131 Hillcrest Road in Dubuque and 5300 Grand Meadow Drive in Asbury.
The facilities were placed into receivership in August 2023 after failing to pay back more than $15.7 million in loans and have since been managed by an outside agency while the properties were marketed for sale.
Two suitable buyers have since been identified — one for the Hillcrest property and another for the Grand Meadows location. The proposed purchase price for the two properties equals a combined $29.8 million, although both offers were contingent upon court approval.
“There’s plenty of other steps left with the due diligence and closing, but this (hearing) let us clear a big hurdle,” said attorney Stephen Alt, who represented Luther Manor during the proceedings.
Tutera Senior Living and Health Care put in a $21.3 million offer for the Asbury campus, which includes the skilled nursing and assisted living facility at 5300 Grand Meadow Drive and 48 adjacent townhomes for older adults.
Of that, roughly $13.8 million would go toward the assumption of all obligations related to current occupancy agreements and fees on the townhomes.
The Hillcrest campus received an $8.5 million offer from the newly formed 3131 Hillcrest Propco LLC for the facility that includes 103 skilled nursing beds and 32 independent living units.
Bitter on Monday expressed his intent to grant the motion for the sales, which should repay most if not all of Luther Manor’s debt. The sale of the properties now is contingent upon the execution of the due diligence process and other closing procedures.
If the purchases move forward as planned, the Dubuque and Asbury campuses would be split. Court documents state both potential purchasers have expressed the intent to maintain the properties’ current operations after the sale.
For Luther Manor residents Rosann Dryer and Ron Hunt, the hearing marked a shift in “a year of uncertainty.” The two have lived at the Asbury campus for six years and have been anxiously following news related to the receivership.
The residents attended Monday’s hearing to hear the outcome first hand, and they said they’ve already received some information from the Asbury campus’ potential owner — including that their current occupancy agreement will be upheld under new ownership.
“It gives us cause to be optimistic after a lot of uncertainty,” Hunt said. “Hopefully things will get better now.”