Adventist HealthCare rentals up for sale

Housing partnership has contract offer, but tenants have right to buy the buildings

Adventist HealthCare has decided to sell its Takoma Park rental properties, which include two apartment complexes and one house along Maple Avenue.

Wheaton-based Montgomery Housing Partnership, a group that buys and renovates properties for affordable rentals, already has a third party contract offer to buy all three properties for $1.5 million.

But the tenants there have the right of first refusal, or the first opportunity to purchase or lease the property before it is sold to an outside buyer, according to the city’s housing laws.

‘‘Becoming a first-time homebuyer is a steppingstone to getting where you want to be,” said Akande, who works at Washington Adventist Hospital.

The tenants are employed by the health care network, most at Washington Adventist, or married to employees. Originally, the properties were used to house out-of-town doctors and their families, and over the years became a place for employees to rent at affordable prices. Rent payments are taken out of employees’ paychecks.

The property now is not considered ‘‘affordable housing” in the official sense, although rents have been kept relatively affordable for the tenants who live there. If the housing partnership did acquire the property, president Robert Goldman said rents would be kept affordable in the long-term.

‘‘We’re not trying to change anything in that respect,” he said.

The residents of the properties up for sale have formed the Hilltop Tenants Association to begin discussions with the city about what they can do to purchase units in the buildings, and whether they can afford to do so.

Bililgne Senbet, president of the tenants’ group whose wife works in the oncology department of Washington Adventist Hospital, said most of the tenants are interested in owning their units. Ideally, the tenants would enter into a co-op agreement, Senbet said, with each resident responsible for not only his or her own unit, but collectively in charge of common areas like the laundry rooms and playground.

Thomas Grant, associate vice president of communications for Adventist HealthCare, said the health care system would be happy to listen to tenants if they came up with an offer. Goldman said his group also is exploring how it could work with the tenants if they chose to purchase the property.

‘‘We can work through who can afford it, who can’t, and then, present that to the tenants... and then they can begin to see whether they’re comfortable with those implications,” Goldman said.

Goldman added that if it turned out that the residents could afford to buy the property, it would be up to them to decide whether to work with the housing group, which has previously worked with tenants becoming homeowners. What happens next will be determined by whether all three parties come to an agreement in the next several months.

‘‘In this case, it’s uncommon that the third-party contract is the nonprofit. It makes it kind of nice, if everybody is in agreement about where they want to go,” said Linda Walker, the city’s housing manager. ‘‘They understand where [Montgomery Housing Partnership] wants to go with it, in terms of buying it as a rental ... and they’ve also discussed the fact that they’re a group of tenants who’d really like to become homeowners.”

Montgomery Housing Partnership became interested after informal meetings between the housing group and the hospital. Goldman said the group organizes several events a year with a health focus in mind, including medical screenings, informational sessions and an annual health fair.

Grant said Adventist HealthCare officials were concerned about turning the property over to a for-profit landlord because of the lack of affordable housing and rate of condo conversions in Takoma Park.

‘‘By selling to us, a group that has a tradition of keeping things affordable, [Adventist HealthCare is] choosing to keep rents affordable there,” Goldman said.

Adventist HealthCare’s decision to sell its properties is not linked with Washington Adventist Hospital’s intentions to move its facilities outside Takoma Park, Grant said. ‘‘For the past several years, we’ve considered selling,” Grant said. ‘‘It didn’t fit into our core mission. ... Our financial resources can be better used to handle medical care.”

If Montgomery Housing Partnership took ownership of the properties, renovating the units would be part of the deal. While the properties are in fairly good shape, the buildings could use some upgrades, Goldman said. One apartment complex was built in 1951, the other in 1960.

The tenants have fewer than 120 days to come up with a matching counter-offer to purchase all the property for sale. If the tenant association changes its mind or is unable to purchase the property, the third party contract with Montgomery Housing Partnership can go through, Walker said.

‘‘When you venture out, and move on up to ownership, situations change,” Akande said. ‘‘Many things change. ... It will be step by step.”