Sunday, November 2, 2008
Keep an eye on Marilyn Froehlich
The 56th District race will be tight, and there's concern about every vote cast in the district. On Election Day, there will be special focus on the voting that goes on at the senior community Friendship Village, where Froehlich's wife Marilyn is on the executive staff and where 500 residents could be voting (source)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friendship Village bonds go deeper into the "Junk" category
Fitch Downgrades Friendship Village of Schaumburg (Illinois) to 'BB-'; Outlook Negative
Last update: 12:04 p.m. EDT Aug. 15, 2008
CHICAGO, Aug 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded Friendship Village of Schaumburg's (FVS), Illinois outstanding $80.5 million of series 2005 A&B revenue bonds to 'BB- from 'BB' (issued through the Illinois Finance Authority). The Rating Outlook remains Negative.
The downgrade to 'BB-' reflects the increasing difficulty of converting sales to move-ins, lower than projected occupancy in the Bridgegate (BG) apartments and a rate covenant violation in fiscal 2008. The continued weakness in the local residential real estate market combined with poor investment returns has made converting sales to move-ins exceptionally challenging. Management has been proactive in developing several marketing initiatives to counteract the current market environment. Fitch believes these strategies have been successful in improving overall sales relative to the initial contract offerings. However, the getting potential residents to move-in is taking longer and requiring greater incentives which has negatively affected of FVS' financial performance in fiscal 2008.
Last update: 12:04 p.m. EDT Aug. 15, 2008
CHICAGO, Aug 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded Friendship Village of Schaumburg's (FVS), Illinois outstanding $80.5 million of series 2005 A&B revenue bonds to 'BB- from 'BB' (issued through the Illinois Finance Authority). The Rating Outlook remains Negative.
The downgrade to 'BB-' reflects the increasing difficulty of converting sales to move-ins, lower than projected occupancy in the Bridgegate (BG) apartments and a rate covenant violation in fiscal 2008. The continued weakness in the local residential real estate market combined with poor investment returns has made converting sales to move-ins exceptionally challenging. Management has been proactive in developing several marketing initiatives to counteract the current market environment. Fitch believes these strategies have been successful in improving overall sales relative to the initial contract offerings. However, the getting potential residents to move-in is taking longer and requiring greater incentives which has negatively affected of FVS' financial performance in fiscal 2008.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Meeting the special dietary needs for those living in Senior Housing -- Guess who rated below average?
Recently, Nutritional Concepts of Northbrook Illinois was asked to explore the quality of menus currently available at local Senior Housing facilities.
They focused on six random facilities, taking into account size (number of residents and locations), for profit or non profit, national and/or Illinois-centric, nursing and/or assisted living. They have no association or interest in any of them. They examined several issues they thought would be of interest to their clients.
What is the quality of the food and menu?
Do they accommodate for special dietary needs?
How is the food prepared (chef or food service)?
Has a health professional helped create and periodically evaluates the menu?
In their opinion, only one out of the six facilities passed muster.
They rated Friendship Village as BELOW AVERAGE and commented:
Friendship Village of Schaumburg (only IL location)
The menu is loaded with heavy sauces, cream soups, and gravy.
For the full story, see Bonnie's Blog
They focused on six random facilities, taking into account size (number of residents and locations), for profit or non profit, national and/or Illinois-centric, nursing and/or assisted living. They have no association or interest in any of them. They examined several issues they thought would be of interest to their clients.
What is the quality of the food and menu?
Do they accommodate for special dietary needs?
How is the food prepared (chef or food service)?
Has a health professional helped create and periodically evaluates the menu?
In their opinion, only one out of the six facilities passed muster.
They rated Friendship Village as BELOW AVERAGE and commented:
Friendship Village of Schaumburg (only IL location)
The menu is loaded with heavy sauces, cream soups, and gravy.
For the full story, see Bonnie's Blog
Monday, May 12, 2008
Seasons restauraunt -- too small to serve the community
Listen to the Bridgewater Place Marketing pitch and they will tell you about the great on site restaurant "Seasons"...and it is wonderful! Problem is, poor planning resulted in a restaurant facility that is too small to serve the community. Initially, you could just come down whenever you were ready and get a table. Then more people started moving in. Now you need a reservation. Sounds innocent enough, until you try to get one. Everyone scrambles to the Hospitality desk when it opens in the morning to get a reservation, resulting in a traffic jam and many frustrated customers.
But wait, there's more! Read the post below. Bridgewater Place is only 70% occupied. If you think it's busy now, wait until the other 51 people move in. It will be a disaster.
Friendship Village management, are you ignoring this situation? How come we don't see any effort to resolve this? Can I suggest longer hours? How about more tables outside of Seasons, like you did this past weekend for Mother's Day.
But wait, there's more! Read the post below. Bridgewater Place is only 70% occupied. If you think it's busy now, wait until the other 51 people move in. It will be a disaster.
Friendship Village management, are you ignoring this situation? How come we don't see any effort to resolve this? Can I suggest longer hours? How about more tables outside of Seasons, like you did this past weekend for Mother's Day.
Bridgewater Place population below target -- an opportunity for buyers!
There are a total of 170 units in Bridgewater Place, but only 119 are occupied. Budget is 123 and there are 51 vacant. So if you're looking to buy; know that you are in a position to negotiate yourself a great deal. Friendship Village is struggling to fill the place and will do whatever they can to get you to sign up!
At the same time, Friendship Village is offering residents a $500 referral reward. So if you know someone living here, make sure they get the bonus.
At the same time, Friendship Village is offering residents a $500 referral reward. So if you know someone living here, make sure they get the bonus.
Name tags -- Good idea / Poor execution
Friendship Village has given all the residents a name badge. This is a wonderful idea as many of us can occasionally forget a name soon after an introduction. The badges have magnetic clasps and are an attractive gold color, BUT, the names were printed on label stock using an inkjet printer and are easily smudged if they get wet. So be careful when you eat and don't drip anything on your name tag.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Down again...
Fitch Ratings-Chicago-23 January 2008: Fitch Ratings downgrades to 'BB' from 'BB+' the rating on Friendship Village of Schaumburg's (FVS), Illinois, outstanding $80.5 million of series 2005 A&B revenue bonds issued through the Illinois Finance Authority. Furthermore, Fitch removes the bonds from Rating Watch Negative and has assigned a Negative Outlook.
see:
http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/sectors/sector.cfm?sector_flag=10&marketsector=1&body_content=about
see:
http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/sectors/sector.cfm?sector_flag=10&marketsector=1&body_content=about
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