Aldersgate to link up with Asheville-based retirement community non-profit
'It’s just going to be a lot better,' interim CEO says, after years of unsteady finances
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Aldersgate plans to affiliate with Asheville-based Givens Communities as it works to get on firm financial ground; more stability for residents and enhanced benefits for staff are expected, interim CEO says
Aldersgate interim CEO David Middleton (at the dais) announced the community’s planned affiliation with Givens Communities during a meeting with residents Wednesday morning that was held in-person and on YouTube. (Screenshot from YouTube)
by Cristina Bolling
The Aldersgate retirement community in east Charlotte, which has been in recovery mode since being deemed nearly insolvent by state regulators in 2023, is planning to link up with a larger, Asheville-based retirement community nonprofit called Givens Communities.
The announcement was made by Aldersgate interim CEO David Middleton during a resident meeting on the Aldersgate campus Wednesday morning.
It’s a major milestone after what’s been a tumultuous last couple of years at Aldersgate, with the community experiencing mounting financial losses, unpaid vendors, refunds to former residents or their estates going unpaid and a major cleanout of its nonprofit board and administrative changeover. The deal offers the promise of putting Aldersgate on more solid financial footing.
Givens Communities operates four continuing care retirement communities in Asheville, South Asheville, Black Mountain and Waynesville. The company was established by the United Methodist Church in 1975.
“It’s a day to feel really great about Aldersgate,” Middleton said at the meeting. “We had a lot of rain. There were thunderstorms. We are going toward a rainbow.”
Middleton told residents Wednesday that a definitive agreement on the transaction, which is called an “affiliation” in the continuing care retirement community world, is expected this summer. The deal is expected to close in the fall of 2025. It is not a sale or merger, Middleton said.
Middleton told residents that he couldn’t yet speak about the financial aspects of the affiliation but said “you’re going to feel a lot more comfortable.” He said he couldn’t answer questions about whether residents’ fees will rise as a result of the affiliation.
Middleton outlined some of the details of the plan:
Aldersgate will no longer have its own board of directors but will be represented on the board of Givens. It’s likely to be called “Aldersgate: A Givens Community” after the affiliation.
Aldersgate will retain its nonprofit status and its mission and values will remain intact. Day-to-day operations aren’t expected to change for residents.
Aldersgate staff should expect job security and enhanced benefits and resources following the affiliation.
When asked by a resident if Givens Communities has plans to develop additional portions of Aldersgate’s 231-acre campus, Middleton said he couldn’t speak to Givens Communities’ plans, and said Givens CEO Kevin Schwab would address residents in the future.
A large portion of Aldersgate’s campus is currently under construction, with apartments for low-income and middle-income seniors and families going up. Residents of those new apartments won’t be part of the Aldersgate retirement community.
Aldersgate was founded in the mid-1940s as a retirement community for Methodist ministers and their spouses. It now has about 570 residents, including about 340 independent-living residents.
The community experienced years of mounting financial losses, compounded by a failed plan to expand to a second campus at Shalom Park in the SouthPark area.
By August 2023, the financial situation at the nonprofit community was so severe that the N.C. Department of Insurance, which regulates the financial side of continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) like Aldersgate, declared Aldersgate at risk for becoming insolvent or in danger of being insolvent and made the unprecedented move of issuing an “order of supervision.”
Since then, Aldersgate has been working with NCDOI to recover financially. The community’s board of directors fired the former CEO, and Aldersgate’s entire finance department turned over.
Aldersgate officials and state regulators say the community has made progress toward recovery, and an affiliation with another entity will provide the community financial stability.
“You can feel comfortable that you’re not going to have surprises. … It’s just going to be a lot better,” Middleton told the residents. “The heart of Aldersgate will stay the same.”
He said he hoped Wednesday’s announcement would put residents’ minds at ease.
“A lot of the things that make you all stay awake at night, or the anxiety you’ve had — it’s just going to fade,” he said.
Cristina Bolling is managing editor of The Ledger: cristina@cltledger.com
Related Ledger articles:
“The bill that could prevent another Aldersgate crisis” (🔒, March 21)
“Aldersgate cuts workforce, explores merger options” (Sept. 18, 2024)
“Aldersgate charts its recovery path” (July 26)
“Inside Aldersgate’s financial woes” (🔒, Feb. 2)
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