By Lauri Lee
Northside Economic Development Coalition
Tennyson Senior Living (Tennyson), a facility serving seniors and adults with disabilities at 1936 Tennyson Lane, Madison, changed receivership management from Independent Living, Inc. to BAKA Enterprises, Inc. (BAKA) at the end of December 2019.
Independent Living, Inc. (ILI), opened Tennyson in fall 2018 and went into receivership last year due to financial difficulties. When unable to pay bills at the end of 2019, the lender, Westbury Bank in West Bend, made BAKA the receiver in order to make it profitable and safe from closure. BAKA owns, leases and manages other senior living facilities in Wisconsin and Texas.
“ILI has done a lot of good work for and with seniors in the community for 70 years,” said BAKA CEO and president, Kathy Tegan.
Hard financial decisions have been made, including the closure of the fitness center. However, we’d like to lease the offices to individual practitioners to provide services that benefit our residents and the public i.e., fitness, yoga, acupuncture, massage or chiropractic. There is fitness exercise equipment; a warm water therapy treadmill pool; showers and lockers; and a separate entrance. Interested parties can contact me at kathy.teegan@bakaenterprises.com.
Resident rates were increased in February to below the area’s market rate. Residents verified this data when they reviewed costs of other senior living communities. Residents had been paying independent living rates that weren’t adjusted to comply with state regulations mandating that staffing needs to be at the more costly assisted living levels.
After implementing cost saving measures, it’s really full occupancy that will keep Tennyson financially healthy. While financial success is important, it’s the goal and responsibility of Westbury Bank and BAKA to have happy residents who are well cared for. Immediate improvements include having architects work on fire separation so the entire facility can have CBRF (community based residential facility) licensure. Currently, state regulations don’t allow RCAC (residential care apartment complex) residents who require less daily assistance and CBRF residents with some memory loss and higher care level needs to use the same main dining room or activity room. We’re also in the process of installing a second elevator in the empty shaft to make it faster for residents and staff to go between floors.”
In 2021, Westbury Bank plans to sell Tennyson to a new buyer. To reach its potential as a premier senior living facility, the buildings in the second and third phase of Tennyson are projected to be built just before or immediately following the sale of the property, depending on the accepted offer.
A Tennyson grand reopening event will be held in upcoming months. For a tour, contact Peggy Schmudlach at peggy.schmudlach@bakaenterprises.com or by calling 608-345-2197.