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Arriving at The Oaks is an unexpected pleasure. Sunshine throws lacy patterns through the gnarled, mossy live oaks that hug the meandering private drive. It's a Lowcountry scene people associate with plantation tours and their favorite films about the South. But this isn't a tourist attraction or a Hollywood movie. The Oaks is a continuing care retirement community in South Carolina, only an hour from the beach and those enticing old antebellum homes.
The Oaks offers tiered living conditions supported by a range of services from complete independence to daily nursing care assistance. Those who enjoy active lifestyles and want to shed the burden of home ownership can choose from ranch or Lowcountry style houses, a duplex or apartment living. The Oaks takes care of all home repairs, yard maintenance and security.
Campus life includes a three-hole golf course, fitness center, game room, heated pool, a library, various reading and activity rooms and a chapel with full services. There are beautiful fishing ponds stocked with bass, bream and catfish. Residents can enjoy a paddleboat ride and share the water with ducks and cranes. There are social activities too, like Lowcountry boils under the wisteria-draped trellis of the main plaza. All scheduled activities address physical, mental and spiritual health and there are always more opportunities than a person can possibly do in a day.
"I like to say come live with me for six months and I'll make you a year younger," director Reverend James R. McGee said.
McGee is understandably proud of The Oaks, but only a few years ago things were not so rosy. After a number of years of declining financial health, The Oaks sought new leadership. McGee, who has a strong background in blended development (a combination of commercial, light industrial and residential), was brought in to rescue The Oaks from a dire financial situation.
"To be honest," McGee said seriously, "I had my doubts. It was a large task and in the beginning we struggled. The Oaks was heavily impacted by the Wall Street shenanigans. Lots of people wanted to move here, but couldn't sell their homes. I had one resident who had to move out because she couldn't sell her house."
The Oaks is a stand alone, not-for-profit corporation with an independent board. The biggest stumbling block when McGee arrived was cash flow. The grounds needed improvement. Facilities required upgrading. A marketing overhaul was imperative and most important, The Oaks had to get out of an untenable bond financing situation.
"We needed a bridge loan, but traditional lenders didn't see the big picture. They just wanted our financial statements without listening to the whole story of The Oaks and what the future could bring."
McGee had heard about USDA special programs to finance business ventures in his area and he began to research that possibility. The Oaks is one of the top non-governmental employers in Orangeburg County with more than 270 employees and 350 residents who annually bring millions of dollars to the local economy. With stats like that McGee thought he had a good shot at the USDA's program. The USDA helped him find BCI Lending and that's when things started to turn around.
"BCI Lending has extensive knowledge of USDA and SBA loans and a solid base of contacts. What they didn't have was experience lending to continuing care retirement communities or non-profits, so they studied CCRCs," McGee explained. "BCI Lending wanted to know about everything. They go to great lengths to understand your business."
McGee sat down with the team at BCI Lending and went over his workout plan detail by detail-costs, revenue, operations and marketing. The conversation included board members and employees.
"I provided BCI Lending with our marketing objectives and plan. I know our demographics and their financial statistics. Our market is not only local. We pull from coastal areas where residents are tired of the threat of hurricanes but they still want the pleasant climate of Southern states," McGee said. "I presented all this information to the team at BCI Lending."
Taking into consideration McGee's insight into his industry and his focused business objectives, BCI Lending worked out a multi-million dollar loan plan to restructure debt and free up cash flow to support the necessary improvements and expansions. With the help of BCI Lending, Reverend McGee is leading The Oaks out of a quagmire of financial stress into the light of a more stable future.
"I appreciated meeting with the president and three out of the four of BCI Lending's decision makers," McGee said. "Time was of the essence and I didn't have to wait for my lender to go up the chain of command for authority. They were the decision makers."
McGee sees BCI Lending's interest in their clients as reflective of his own.
"We're here to help folks. The Oaks is a relationship business," he said. "Most people don't think of their association with a lending institution as a relationship, but after my experience with BCI Lending I certainly do. I can have lunch with the people who are helping form our future. That's a huge plus."
For more information on The Oaks visit www.theoakssc.com.
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