Canton Christian Home property sold, will lease site from new owner
CANTON ‒ The Canton Christian Home senior living complex has been sold but will continue to operate under direction of its volunteer board of trustees.
The Solomon Foundation, a church extension fund based in Parker, Colorado, purchased the faith-based retirement community last week for $24 million, according to documents filed with the Stark County auditor and recorder offices.
"This was a great offer for us and too good of a deal to pass up," said Robert Nickoson, president of the board.
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"As good as (Canton Christian Home) already is, hopefully it will be even better," said Jonathan Sams, a Cincinnati-area attorney who worked on the deal and who has frequently represented The Solomon Foundation in other transactions.
The Christian Home has 75 certified beds, according to its Medicare nursing home profile. The facility also offers apartments and assisted living, along with short-term rehabilitation on its 7.5-acre campus at 2550 Cleveland Ave. NW.
Christian Home now leasing site
In tandem with the sale, the Christian Home board signed a 10-year lease to rent the complex from Solomon. And the agreement includes options for multiple 10-year extensions.
The Christian Home, Nickoson said, effectively replaced a large mortgage payment with a smaller rental fee, which means it's now better positioned to carry on its mission of senior care.
"Our payment is about a third of what it was before," he said.
Sams didn't provide financial details of the deal.
However, Canton Christian Home's mortgage-holder, Fifth Third Bank, filed documents this week, to indicate debt from $15 million in bonds and other credit had been paid off.
Founded a dozen years ago, The Solomon Foundation serves Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ within the Restoration Movement. It has grown to become the fourth-largest church extension fund in America by surpassing $725 million in assets, according to a 2020 story in Christian Standard.
Church extension funds aren't new.
For example, the 44-year-old Lutheran Church Extension Fund can trace its origins to the early 1900s. Solomon and other funds like it raise money from investors by issuing of debt securities, then lend those funds to members and churches within the sect, to buy land, build or refinance old debt.
"They are our sister organizations," Sams explained.
Unlike banks or corporate investors, Solomon is not solely motivated by profit, he added.
"Our motivation is support," he said.
Solomon has worked nationwide with churches and affiliated groups, such as Bible colleges. Among them is First Christian Church, in Plain Township, which has leased from Solomon since the foundation acquired the site in 2017.
Sams said, in some instances, Solomon also provides grants.
Nursing home's humble beginnings
Canton Christian Home was originally formed as Rose Lane Christian Home in 1969, according to state records, and opened its doors to its first eight residents in 1976. But its creation dates to the 1950s, when the East End Missionary class of the First Christian Church in Canton saw a need for their older members to have a Christian care facility and began collections in a Mason jar.
Through the years, the Christian Home grew.
A wing was added in 1990. Fifteen years later, Aultman Home for Women was merged into the Christian Home. In 2014, an expansion added two new towers; a refurbishment followed.
"We're in great shape ... solid for years to come," Nickoson said.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com On Twitter: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: The Solomon Foundation buys Canton Christian Home retirement community
