In another of many signs of the damage being done by the U.S. economic downturn, RainbowVision, the Santa Fe LGBT retirement facility GrayPrideParade first wrote about on February 25, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The New York Times also reports that the recession, which impacted RainbowVision primarily because so many people have been unable to sell their homes to move to the community, led management to increase the monthly fees charged to existing residents. This has, in turn, led to rancor and division, with some residents refusing to pay the fees, thereby creating more financial pressures.
The Times goes on to report that this is the second LGBT retirement community to file bankruptcy papers; the Palms of Manasota near Sarasota, Florida, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year. In addition, “a development near Portland, Oregon is struggling at 25 percent of capacity,” and proposed communities in Austin, Texas; Boston; and near Phoenix, Arizona “never opened because of a lack of finances and a decline in real estate values.”
The full article is available at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/us/gay-retirement-communities-struggling-in-the-recession.html; the Times charges online users once they have accessed a certain number of articles in a month’s time.
