The Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers (ABRC) has officially said goodbye to its first facility — Clara Verner Tower in Tuscaloosa.
A year to the date of the original announcement that the facility would be sold, the transfer of ownership from ABRC to Tuscaloosa businessman Stan Pate was finalized Nov. 15.
“While some minor ‘housekeeping’ work is yet to be done, Stan Pate is the new owner of Clara Verner Tower,” said William H. “Billy” Austin, ABRC president.
The decision to sell the facility, which was a part of the ABRC family for 31 years, came after a November 2005 fire that exposed building code issues.
A lack of funding prevented the ABRC from make the appropriate upgrades, Austin said in a January 2006 interview. By November 2006, he was reporting the intent to sell the property.
Austin announced the finalization of the transfer Nov. 14 of this year. “This has been a long two years as we have worked our way through many, many legal mazes,” he said. “We have made sure as much as we possibly could that there are many safeguards in place so that the residents in that retirement center will be cared for in the years ahead. It will still be for the elderly at least for the foreseeable future.”
Baptist name remains
Pate has reported he will refinance the remaining $2 million indebtedness with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will spend nearly $11 million on renovations, according to The Tuscaloosa News.
The News also reported that the ABRC will receive “about $150,000 in incidential payments.”
Austin said the phrase “An Alabama Baptist Retirement Center” will continue to be part of the name for 20 years. The ABRC will receive an annual fee from Pate for the use of the phrase. “We do have the right to disassociate ourselves and rescind the permission to use our name if Mr. Pate’s use of our name is ever contrary to our core beliefs.” (TAB)
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