By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Kenney is under new management.

After nine years, East Coast-based Heritage Ministries has ended its operation of the 115-year-old West Seattle senior-living complex. Midwest-based SAK Healthcare is now running it, we learned this week.

“We’re quite excited about the prospects for renewal here,” SAK Healthcare’s chief strategy officer Rick Snider told WSB.

The state of The Kenney has been closely watched since an ambitious $150 million redevelopment plan announced a decade and a half ago, changed amid community scrutiny, and ultimately scrapped in 2011. In 2016, it announced a smaller-scale plan for change, but that too evolved, including a sale of some adjacent properties where The Kenney once planned to build apartments.

After learning about the management change, we asked Snider some questions via email. He says SAK Healthcare “is a leading national advisory specializing in distressed health-care facilities that require strategic redirection and turnaround management services.” The Kenney has not been sold, nor is it in bankruptcy or receivership, he said, though he said SAK Healthcare was hired last month “directly by the governing board for The Kenney in cooperation with the lender.”

Since then, he said, “We’ve been on-site every week since then to conduct assessments and staff training, inspect physical plant issues, work on resolving vendor accounts that are outstanding, and put together short-term plans to stabilize the operations and finances.” This is not likely a long-term relationship, though: “Our turnaround engagements normally do not specify an end date, and they may run anywhere from twelve to eighteen months typically. Our goal is to bring The Kenney back to its former status as the premier senior living community in Seattle.”

What does that mean in terms of operational changes? Snider replied, “Our focus is to improve all aspects of resident care including clinical services and nursing, dietary, aesthetics and physical plant. We are working to rebuild the resident census to enable us to accelerate our improvement plans. We have already begun extensive efforts to restore the beautiful grounds for which The Kenney is known, partnering with Devonshire Landscapes. Many other items of deferred maintenance are also being addressed including the HVAC systems, elevators, and lighting.” Snider says the change has not resulted in any staff cuts, “and we do not plan to reduce staff. We are looking for additional senior living professionals to join the team, including a marketer, and additional staff to support clinical services and resident care.”

We also asked whether residents and their families had been notified of the change: “Yes, our leadership including our CEO, Suzanne Koenig, and our consulting team has met with the resident council and with all residents and family members in a town hall held at The Kenney. We are continuing to send out communications to keep residents and families informed of progress being made.”

Snider says his compay has high hopes for that progress: “The Kenney is a hidden gem and has incredible potential. With the collaboration of residents and staff and our vendors along with the Board, we’re moving the community forward to a brighter future. SAK Healthcare is very proud to have been asked to work with the community and provide its knowledge and skills to address the many challenges that have plagued The Kenney for years.”

The Kenney’s campus at 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW, just north of Lincoln Park, includes independent- and assisted-living units, as well as memory care.

As previewed in today’s highlights, you’re invited to enjoy a barbecue on the back lawn at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW; WSB sponsor). Live music:

The theme is Hawaiian, but you don’t need an aloha shirt – although The Kenney’s executive director John Cruz is sporting one:

The barbecue’s on until 7.

A new executive director has just been announced for The Kenney (WSB sponsor). Here is the announcement we received this afternoon:

David Smeltzer, CEO of Heritage Ministries has announced that John Cruz, MBA has been named the Executive Director of The Kenney in West Seattle.

A graduate of San Francisco University with a degree in Organizational Behavior Studies, Cruz earned his Master of Business Administration from the Marylhurst University in 2017, and has extensive experience in the senior care industry, previously serving as the Executive Director of a senior living community in Oregon.

“We are excited to have John join our team at The Kenney as the new Executive Director. We believe his expertise, prior experience, and passion will add tremendous value to our organization and our residents. Over the past 4 years, the collaborative partnership between The Kenney and Heritage Ministries has allowed both organizations to flourish in their mutual passion and mission to serve seniors. We also see tremendous opportunity, in both the immediate and long term future of our industry and our companies,” said Bruce Erickson, Heritage Vice President of Senior Housing.

Cruz will oversee daily operations of all aspects at The Kenney, West Seattle’s only CRCC community, including Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care. “I am excited to be joining the team at The Kenney, and the long history surrounding it. My short time here has been enriched by staff and resident open arms. I look forward to being part of the future here at The Kenney,” he stated.

Heritage Ministries, the parent company of The Kenney, was founded as the Orphanage and Homes of the Free Methodist Church in 1886 and has grown from its original campus in Gerry, NY, to six locations in New York with additional affiliations in the states of Washington, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. As a not-for-profit provider of senior care and housing, Heritage is a leader in the industry, employing approximately 1,500 team members, and serving over 2,500 individuals annually. With locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington, Heritage and its affiliates provide rehabilitation and skilled nursing services, memory care, independent retirement housing, and assisted living. The Homestead Stables provides intergenerational equestrian opportunities as well as boarding, training, and lessons. In addition, child care is provided at two campuses, allowing for intergenerational programs.

For more information on Heritage Ministries and The Kenney, please visit www.heritage1886.org or www.thekenney.org.

The Kenney is at 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW.

(WSB photos: One of the 46th/47th/Othello properties that’s for sale)

Last week we reported on the $5.2 million listing for properties owned by, and adjacent to, The Kenney (WSB sponsor). The site at 46th/47th/Othello was at one point under consideration for redevelopment as apartments. Since last week’s mention of the listing, we’ve received an update on The Kenney’s status and future plans from its operator Heritage Ministries:

The Kenney is currently affiliated with Heritage Ministries, a New York, not-for-profit provider of senior housing and services for the elderly. Heritage Ministries operates in four different states at 9 different locations including The Kenney in Seattle. The Kenney formally affiliated with Heritage just over 3 years ago after many years of financial struggles and 2 years of interim management under an agreement with Ontrack Solutions, a for-profit management company.

When The Kenney affiliated with Heritage in May of 2015, it had secured debt of $21.8 million and was losing over $3 million per year. As a result of the affiliation and under Heritage’s oversight, the overall secured debt now stands at under $15 million and annual losses have been drastically curtailed, but there is still work to be done.

With this new affiliation, The Kenney has begun taking steps to become a more viable, long-term retirement option for seniors in West Seattle. A significant step was taken earlier in 2018 when The Kenney ceased to operate skilled nursing beds at the location. According to President David Smeltzer, “The 20-bed skilled nursing unit was not a viable product. It was too small to be able to operate efficiently, was comprised primarily of semi-private rooms, and could not compete with larger facilities for the more profitable, short-term rehab portion of the business. We saw an opportunity to reduce operating losses while providing very similar care and services in our Lincoln Vista assisted living apartments which are all private units consisting of both efficiency and one-bedroom apartments. We now offer many of the same services in a much newer building and in a much nicer environment.”

The Kenney is now in the process of totally renovating the old skilled-nursing area along with another former assisted-living wing to create a much more appealing memory care unit that will also enable it to increase the number of residents served with these needs from 13 to 20 with more room to grow in the future. This space will also offer private rooms, larger dining and activities spaces, and an improved access to outdoor spaces.

In addition to these moves to improve the facility, The Kenney has been gutting and remodeling the older apartments in two original buildings, Seaview and Sunrise. When Heritage took over, many of these units did not even have kitchens. Under this new leadership, smaller efficiency apartments have been combined to make much more appealing two-bedroom and one-bedroom units.

In addition, The Kenney is also well into the process of constructing 5 new townhomes on the corner of Fauntleroy and SW Othello. They have been working with architects Shoesmith Cox, who designed the units and is leading the project through the City of Seattle permitting process. The Kenney is hopeful that construction on these homes will begin in 2019.

Two years ago, The Kenney held a meeting with community residents to discuss the townhome project as well as plans to build additional apartments on the corner of 47 Ave SW and SW Othello. However, with further analysis, Kenney management has determined that a more critical need for The Kenney is the continued improvement of its existing facilities and infrastructure. The revised plan calls for complete renovations of all existing buildings and apartments, the improved Memory Care unit referred to above, brand new elevators, and perhaps most importantly, a brand new dining facility to be built above the current Memory Care unit. This new dining facility will offer a variety of seating options with restaurant-style dining and provide a better flow of traffic through the facility for residents and guests alike.

President and CEO Smeltzer stated, “Due to the financial struggles The Kenney had prior to their affiliation with Heritage, The Kenney was unable to keep the facilities up to date and provide the
amenities which a retirement community in today’s market is expected to provide. We are working hard to overcome these obstacles to create a safe, secure, and appealing environment where seniors from West Seattle and beyond can find an affordable option for retirement with a continuum of vital services. We believe this can best be accomplished by accessing the capital that currently exists in the community rental properties on 47 Ave. SW and using it to bring The Kenney up to current standards while assuring that we maintain its rich history.”

The new townhomes at Fauntleroy/Othello were described at last July’s Morgan Community Association meeting. The skilled-nursing closure was first announced more than a year ago.

When The Kenney (WSB sponsor) first announced its “new and different” expansion plan two years ago, the rental properties it owns to the southwest of its campus were envisioned for redevelopment as an apartment building. Now apparently that idea’s been scrapped, as the sites, which currently hold 15 units (three triplexes, one fourplex and one duplex), are on the market for $5.2 million, under the umbrella “The Kenney Assemblage.” The retirement complex appears to still be pursuing plans to build new townhouse units to the east of the land that’s up for sale, as they’re being marketed prominently on The Kenney’s website and have been going through the permit process since last spring. It’s now been seven years since The Kenney, under different management, scrapped a $150 million redevelopment plan.

The Kenney has announced that it’s closing its skilled-nursing facility, known as its Health Center. In a news release, The Kenney’s management calls the closure part of “a new direction for care services” and says the center’s “small size … has limited what we are able to offer our residents. … In making this change, the Kenney will be joining a growing number of continuing-care retirement communities nationwide who are moving away from operating their own skilled-nursing facility on-site.”

In response to our followup questions, The Kenney’s executive director René Dumas says 15 people are currently living in the Health Center, which has 20 beds, and that almost half of them are there for “short-term stays … for rehabilitation prior to discharge to home.” The facility says the center’s residents “are being offered assistance with the transition.” That’s also what they say they’ll be doing with an unspecified number of employees who will be affected. Dumas also says that after its closure on February 1st, the area now used for skilled nursing care “will be used for memory-care services.” Elsewhere at The Kenney, Dumas adds, “We plan to use a wing that has not been used for two years as expanded assisted-living services (more care services than our existing assisted living in Lincoln Vista).”

It’s been more than a year since The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW) announced some other changes, including redevelopment plans for part of its site, still proceeding through the city system.

(Early-stage concept for expansion of The Kenney – the light-green-shaded buildings at bottom of image)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“The senior population is growing and we don’t have the type of housing they want.”

That’s what The Kenney‘s executive director Larry Foss told about 50 people at a community meeting, explaining why the 125-year-old retirement complex north of Lincoln Park is launching a “totally new and different” expansion plan.

What he and others made clear at Thursday night’s meeting is that the plan to add some housing on the south side of their block is nothing like the “pretty grandiose plans” scrapped five years ago, leaving The Kenney with financial challenges. To underscore that, Foss stressed that “the people who (were part of that) are not a part of The Kenney any more.” The board is new, the management is different, the affiliation is different.

In 2014, The Kenney announced plans to affiliate with East Coast-based Heritage Ministries, whose CEO David Smeltzer also serves as Kenney CEO and was part of the presentation, as were architects John Shoesmith and Steve Cox.

Before getting to the new plans – which are still in their early stages, the Kenney executives said – they offered some context on their organization and what’s happened since it took over.

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