Northern Berkshire Healthcare Reports Less than $1M in Assets

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire Healthcare's petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy declares it has between $500,000 and $1 million left in assets, but owes up to $50 million.

Hearings on the bankruptcy proceedings for the health care system and its subsidiary, Northern Berkshire Healthcare Physicians Group, are set for Monday, April 7, at 3 p.m. in the Federal Courthouse in Springfield.

The board voted unanimously on April 2 to file Chapter 7, which allows an appointed bankruptcy trustee to sell of assets to pay the claims of creditors.

The case is being heard by Judge Henry J. Boroff.

On Thursday, the federal bankruptcy court assigned Harold B. Murphy of Murphy & King PC of Boston as an interim trustee to preside over the initial hearing of creditors in the U.S. Trustee's office on May 15.

Olga L. Gordon of Murtha Cullina LLP in Boston was hired as counsel at a cost of $18,666.67.

Northern Berkshire Healthcare closed abruptly last month, shutting down North Adams Regional Hospital on Friday, March 28, and its physician practices last week. The health-care system had been in talks for some time with Berkshire Health Systems based in Pittsfield for a merger or affiliation. The negotiations broke down when an agreement could not be reached between BHS and bondholders for NBH's debt, prompting the board of trustees to vote to close when it could not make payroll for the coming week.

The filings in Thursday's bankruptcy notice included the top 20 unsecured creditors for each nonprofit organization. The total number of creditors is between 200 and 999.

According to the filing, the health care system estimates that once exempt property and administrative expenses are excluded, "there will be no funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors."



NBH owes the most in unsecured claims to Berkshire Health Systems, at about $1.8 million; it also owes more than $600,000 to two Pension Benefit Guarantee accounts and another $129,000 to the NBH Plan Trust.

Other creditors range from Wells Fargo Bank ($71,882) to Margulies Peruzzi Architects Inc. of Boston ($64,843).

Northern Berkshire Healthcare Physicians Group lists the same assets and liabilities, but a much lower amount in unsecured debt. It owes the most, $20,000, to Berkshire Surgical Associates and the least, $424.98, to WB Mason Co.

There are, however, numerous other creditors for both organizations, including a significant amount of bonding debt for Northern Berkshire Healthcare that has been estimated between $20 million and $40 million.

In 2011, the health group failed to make payments on some $43 million in bonds issued for expansion and for renovations on the North Adams Regional Hospital campus in the decade before.

In August 2012, not long after re-emerging from Chapter 11 reorganization, some $36 million in bonds were issued through the Massachusetts Development & Finance Agency and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, to replace the older bonds and backdated for interest to June that year.


Tags: bankruptcy,   NARH,   NBH,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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