Taylor completes purchase of Sugar Hill

LACONIA — Taylor Community today finalized its purchase of the Sugar Hill Retirement Community in Wolfeboro, a move which Taylor officials say sets the stage to bring comprehensive retirement living services to southern Carroll County.

The move will also eventually double the size of Taylor’s overall operation.

The sale of the 118-acre Sugar Hill property on Rolling Wood Drive was announced jointly by David Pearlman, chairman of Taylor Comminity’s Board of Trustees, and Michael Flaherty, president and CEO of the non-profit retirement community.

Taylor Community is purchasing Sugar Hill from the parent company of Huggins Hospital which built the cooperative retirement community about 20 years ago. Discussions to purchase Sugar Hill have been under way for about two years, Pearlman said.

Taylor first announced it had reached a deal to purchase Sugar Hill in September 2019. At that time it said it hoped to complete the transaction within six months. However, the sale took longer to complete than anticipated, partly because of COVID, and also because of the need to get approval from separate governing boards, the Sugar Hill resident cooperative, and two state agencies, he explained.

Taylor will take over operation of Sugar Hill once all the sale documents are signed today.

The sale price was not disclosed.

Bank of New Hampshire is the lead bank involved in the acquisition, Pearlman said.

Sugar Hill currently has 72 people residing in independent-living apartments and cottages and another 15 residents in its assisted living facility.

The Sugar Hill acquisition will significantly expand Taylor’s presence in Wolfeboro. In 2001 it purchased 33 acres across the street from Back Bay and constructed 24 independent living cottages on the site.

Pearlman said Taylor plans to expand the current assisted living building to also provide services to those who need nursing or memory care. He said it hopes to bring specific plans for that expansion to local and state officials soon.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to move as quickly as possible,” Pearlman said.

The expansion of Sugar Hill will bring a full range of senior living services to the Wolfeboro side of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Taylor Community is prepared to provide for its residents' health care needs as their health changes and is responsible for their care regardless of whether they have outlived their financial resources. The organization provides an average of $1.6 million in charitable services to its residents every year, Pearlman noted.

“This is a big benefit to Wolfeboro, where there is a lack of (Continuing Care Retirement Community) services,” Pearlman said.

With the anticipated growth and expansion, Pearlman said the operation of Sugar Hill and Back Bay together will in time be on the same scale as Taylor Community’s 107-acre complex in Laconia.

“It’s extraordinary when a nonprofit can responsibly grow. It will double in size and still have room to grow,” Pearlman said.

Flaherty said that, as facilities and services expand in Wolfeboro, so will the number of employees there.

“As we develop, we will grow to about 150 to 200 employees” in Wolfeboro, Flaherty said.