By David Levington
I’m 94 years old, and I’ve lived at The Commons for eight years. I certainly don’t look forward to two or three years of noise and disruption of life here, but I am voting in favor of the proposed expansion, and so are all eighteen residents on the two committees that have been most involved in developing the plan. Why? It’s the finances. We have one asset (The Commons) worth maybe $100 million, and liabilities of $180 million (see this financial statement). We owe $90 million in municipal bonds that pay 6-7% and another $90 million to our residents in refundable deposits.
We’re in this position because, when the prior owners decided to sell, as part of the change of ownership all the cash available was withdrawn and, using The Commons as collateral, $100 million in municipal bonds were sold (as an aside, municipal bonds that pay 6-7% are commonly referred to as “junk bonds.”
Those of us with long memories remember that we’ve been through bankruptcy; we don’t want to go through that again. The projections prepared for us show that if financial conditions continue as they are, the Commons can get through the next few years, but only on a level basis. No major improvements. But we have no financial cushion to get us through a disruption, like a pandemic. The Commons survived the pandemic, when we could admit no new residents, because we were financially healthy. That hadn’t been the case in 2013, when The Groves couldn’t survive a dip in the housing market. And that wouldn’t be the case here if we experienced a recession, a drop in the housing market, another pandemic, or any event which stopped us from admitting new residents. Not only does income go down, but we are obligated to refund the deposits of residents who die or leave for any reason.
The expansion plan will affect us all, some much more than others. There will be noise, construction traffic, heavy equipment. We will lose attractive green spaces. Despite all this, the members of the Resident Council, who are our liaison to management, all vote in favor of the proposed plan. They have been involved in every step of the plan’s development and have kept the residents aware of each step taken. A Steering Committee was formed, with six residents and staff to advise and consider each iteration. (I am a member of the Steering Committee.) We are also unanimous in support. We urge you to vote in favor of the expansion plan; I believe it is in the best interests of the residents of The Commons and the town of Lincoln.
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The majority of The Commons residents are NOT for the expansion. It’s very interesting that only committee members who work directly with the administrators, and who do not accurately represent the residents, are posting propaganda about the proposed expansion to The Commons. The Commons is not going bankrupt. The money they take in from the expensive buy-ins and monthly assessments for each apartment and free-standing home can sustain the operations of The Commons. However, the new owners need to make money for themselves and to cover the debt they have incurred when buying the property and ultimately the debt they will take on in order to build the overly huge and expensive expansion porposal. Why do people want to live at The Commons? Because Lincoln is a town that loves the principals of quiet open space. The people living at The Commons chose not to live in the Brookhaven “city” in Lexington/Waltham or the older, larger Bedford Carelton-Willard, or the large apartment-like Newbury Court in Concord or the ultra-modern new Waterstone in Lexington. People choose to live at The Commons because it is like their own home and neighborhood used to be. It feels like home. As it is.
I am a family member of a resident at The Commons. I am trying to give voice to the actual feelings of the body of residents at The Commons who are afraid, who feel helpless and are not heard, and who do NOT WANT the proposed expansion. The small group of committee members should not control the information given to the public and Lincoln residents. The committees do not represent the actual feelings of The Commons resident majority.