Four years ago, Elant Inc. broke ground on an upscale condominium project next to its continuum care retirement community, Glen Arden in Goshen.
The goal was to create a community of ranch-style condos for the 55-and-over crowd that eventually would find a tie-in to Glen Arden. Elant broke ground, started roadwork and infrastructure and built four models of the potential homes. Then the Crash of 2008 put the condo project on hold.
According to Elant”™s new CEO, Todd Whitney, the senior health provider is no longer pursuing the build out of the senior condo complex.
“The market just isn”™t there,” said Whitney during an interview last month. “Anyone who might be interested in purchasing a condo can”™t sell their own homes. There is such a glut of properties on the market that it is not economically feasible for us to continue building in the hope that the market is going to suddenly bounce back.”
Whitney says Elant is putting the property back on the market. What will happen to the four condos models currently on the property? “That”™s entirely up to the purchasers,” Whitney said.
Elant has gone through a restructuring period since Donna McAleer, who was CEO for 25 years, handed in her resignation several months ago. Now that Whitney, the organization”™s former chief financial officer, has taken her place, he”™s focusing on making the senior health provider financially viable and building on its existing framework, reining in expansion.
“There”™s no doubt that eventually the housing market will come back,” Whitney said, “but we can”™t invest any more money into the project than we have already. It”™s a great site and I”™m sure someone will come along and put it to good use. For us, it”™s just not the right time to make this type of capital expenditure.”
