Judge appoints receiver to sell The Ranch retirement community

March 31--Liquidation of The Ranch, an upscale retirement community that was the dream of a group of Oklahoma State University alumni and retired faculty, moved one step closer Friday with the appointment of a receiver to oversee its sale.

Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen R. Kistler gave attorneys representing UMB Bank NA, trustee for the bondholders who financed the project, and general contractor The Weitz Company LLC time to confer and agree on the proposed receiver before he ruled.

Joseph Farris, an attorney representing The Weitz Company, said UMB Bank selected someone and his firm vetted their choice before agreeing.

Kistler appointed Senior Vice-president and Director of Property Management for The Yarco Companies Robert O. Schock as receiver for The Ranch.

The Yarco Companies are a Kansas City, Missouri-based manager of apartment communities that has a presence in Oklahoma. Schock said Yarco has been managing Stillwater's Chapel Ridge apartments for about one year.

Yarco doesn't manage senior living facilities, but Schock says his lack of experience with specialized senior developments doesn't matter because the building is vacant and no services are being provided there.

"I can tell you that we are eminently qualified to manage an empty building," he said.

As a court-appointed receiver, Schock has custodial responsibility over physical assets of The Ranch that serve as collateral for $110 million in bonds that were sold to finance its construction.

He says he will be responsible for identifying a company with the experience to implement a nationwide marketing campaign and find a qualified buyer or buyers. His job is to sell the property for as much as possible so the creditors can be paid.

Design firm RDG Planning and Design announced The Ranch's groundbreaking in June 2016. It was designed to provide continuing care for residents and included 114 independent living apartments, 23 cottages, 40 assisted living apartments, with 20 centered on memory care, and 40 skilled nursing apartments, with 20 centered on long-term care and 20 centered on short-term rehabilitation.

The Ranch campus is located on 55 acres at 5601 N. Washington Street, about four miles from Oklahoma State University's Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The cottages are complete with the exception of sidewalks and landscaping and the main apartment building was estimated to be 80-85 percent complete when work stopped after the bondholders stopped paying construction bills.

Farris said he has heard The Ranch described as an "affinity community" where people with similar interests, education and professional backgrounds live together.

The future of the complex is now in question.

Any investor who acquires property does it with the idea of creating cash flow and generating revenue, Schock said. He isn't making any promises about who the property might be sold to or what its final use would be.

He estimates The Ranch only had commitments for 40-45 percent of its capacity.

"It flat out is a financial conversation and transaction," Schock said.

Weitz Companies General Counsel T. Ryan Lamb said the bondholders still have $27 million generated by bond sales that they have been refusing to release to pay bills.

The last payments made to Weitz and its subcontractors were released in November.

Dennis Beets is the owner of one of those subcontractors, Ponca City-based American Roofing. He says he's just hoping to get paid but he doesn't sound optimistic.

"The attorneys are the only ones who win in a case like this," Beets said.

Attorneys from Boston law firm Mintz Levin and Oklahoma City firm Spencer Fane that represent UMB Bank NA said they couldn't discuss anything about the case.

Twitter: @mcharlesNP

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