What is changing? Is there a new owner?
Watermark Retirement Communities has been selected as the new management company replacing Sunrise Senior Living. The owner of the community is not changing and is Fountains Senior Living Holdings, LLC (formerly known as Sunrise Senior Living Holdings IV, LLC), a privately-held investment company. The investment company has been active in senior housing since 2002 and owns many other senior housing assets in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

Will the community name change?
No, the communities all have wonderful reputations and will remain The Fountains.

What’s Watermark all about?
Watermark is a privately owned company based in Tucson Arizona with over 20 years of experience managing and operating all types of senior living communities. Watermark is committed to creating extraordinary communities where people thrive.  With the addition of the Fountains portfolio, Watermark manages a total of 27 communities plus home health agencies, located in 16 states. To learn more, please visit www.watermarkcommunities.com.

What’s the shared history between the community and Watermark Retirement Communities?
Watermark Retirement Communities was formerly Fountains Retirement Communities. In 2005 The Fountains sold many of their communities to a private investment firm and Sunrise Senior Living took over management. At that time, several members of The Fountains management team joined together to form Watermark Retirement Communities. So ultimately, the community is returning to a management company which not only understands the business, but knows the community, the local market and many of the associates and residents.

When will the transition occur?
There is a lot of work to be done to finalize the transition. A big part of the process involves regulatory approvals. While we are doing everything possible to expedite the process, it may take as long as six months.

We anticipate the following communities to transition on January 1, 2010: The Fountains at Albemarle, The Fountains at Boca Ciega Bay, The Fountains at Crystal Lake, The Fountains at Green Briar, The Fountains at Franklin, The Fountains at La Cholla, The Fountains at Lake Point Woods and The Fountains at Washington House.

We anticipate the remaining 8 communities to transition by March 31, 2010: The Fountains at Bronson Place, The Fountains at Bellevue, The Fountains at Canterbury, The Fountains at Carlotta, The Fountains at La Jolla, The Fountains at Millbrook, The Fountains at RiverVue and The Fountains at Sea Bluffs.

This may change as we go through this process but we will communicate any changes to this time frame when and if they occur.