| Community Futures
South Central
Local Investors Save Personal Care Home
Assiniboia's Prairie Villa personal care home
is an example of what can be done when a community takes action
to fill a need. The building was used as a level 3 and 4 care
facility until it closed in the late 1990s. It then housed public
health offices and the like, but when an addition was made to
the local hospital, the building was slated for demolition.
"We knew that if we lost it we'd never
get it back," says Bob Himbeault, who was one of the townspeople
who led the effort to save the facility. Himbeault now serves
as President of Prairie Villa.
"In 2003 the local economic development
authority identified the need for the facility, so we took a look
at what other operators were doing and developed a business plan,"
Himbeault says.
A group of citizens formed a private company
and sold a $350,000 share offering to local investors. Renovations
began in September 2004, and the Villa opened as a 34-room, level
1 and 2 facility in March 2005. By June 2006 there was a waiting
list, and a second share offering of $110,000 paid for renovations
to open another nine rooms in the southwest wing of the facility.
In total, $750,000 has been invested in the facility, including
loans from the local credit union.
"That all sounds good," Himbeault
observes, "but when it opened it wasn't full until July
2005. South Central Community Futures loaned us $45,000 to see
us through a couple of months of low cash flow while we arranged
a line of credit. I was pleased how quickly the loan was arranged.
Prairie Villa paid off that operating loan to South Central CF
last (June 2007) month!"
While Prairie Villa is an outstanding local
success story, it's also an ongoing story. During an interview
on a sweltering summer day Himbeault notes that he'd just ordered
29 additional awnings for some of the windows. And, he knows someday
soon the facility's 50-year-old roof will likely require some
repair work.
"The investors know that they saved a
facility that provides a needed service to the community and employs
28 people, full and part-time," says Himbeault. "That's
the main reason they invested. Possibly, they may see a return
on their investment in the future. I hope they do."
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