The Parc at Harbor View senior complex in Winthrop has transferred its management rights to Jaybird Senior Living, a 50-property chain based in the Midwest with a history of fast-rising rental rates and legal charges over alleged resident mistreatment.

Jaybird acquired the management rights for The Parc, a 73-unit assisted-living complex on Lincoln Street specializing in memory care, from the Wakefield-based Sona Senior Living, effective this month. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Jaybird, based in Iowa, said in a statement that its expansion into Winthrop is part of an accelerating expansion plan for the company. “At Jaybird, we focus on growth, nurturing resident well-being, and building systems that deliver lasting value for our partners,” the company’s president, Justin Wray, said in the statement.

The company, however, has a track record that includes huge price increases driving out residents, and criminal allegations of misconduct after resident deaths.

Midwest record

Instances include the River Glen of St. Charles, west of Chicago, where the majority of residents left after Jaybird took control and increased maintenance charges by more than 300 percent; and two Iowa facilities, Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing, and Keelson Harbour Senior Living, where unattended residents froze to death.

The situation raises concern, said Winthrop’s representative in the state Senate, Lydia Edwards. “Many families and seniors are looking for a safe affordable place,” Senator Edwards said of the situation. “Parc has a good reputation. Jaybird, based on a basic Google search, does not.”

The president of Winthrop’s Town Council, Jim Letterie, said he would look into the matter.

A spokesperson for Jaybird, Kristin Cole, the company’s director of marketing, in response to questions about the company’s record and the reports from Iowa and Illinois, said that Jaybird would bring to The Parc “no immediate change in rental rates or care policies, ensuring continuity and stability.”

Protections promised

“We understand that changes in management can raise questions among residents, staff, and community members,” Ms Cole said. “Our approach at Jaybird Senior Living is to ensure a seamless transition with minimal disruption.”

The Parc transition comes at a moment of heavy attention to housing questions in Winthrop, which is among a small number of eastern Massachusetts communities fighting the state’s 3A law requiring an expansion of zones that allow multifamily housing.

The Town Council has refused to grant that compliance even while facing the loss of a growing number of state grant awards that the town is no longer eligible to receive. Mr Letterie has asked the town manager, Tony Marino, to compile a list of the affected grants and has said the total figure now appears to be in the range of $1.5 million, in a town with a budget of about $66 million.

“I don’t think it’s incredibly huge,” Mr Letterie said of the amount. The town is defending itself against a lawsuit by the state requiring it to comply with 3A, while also engaged in talks with state officials aimed at finding a solution.

Policy limits

The shift at The Parc also comes nearly a year after the Somerset building in downtown Winthrop was changed from rentals to a complex of 29 condominiums.

The developer of the Somerset, The Procopio Companies, listed a series of protections it implemented for the conversion process, including giving residents a one-year notice, doubled to two years for people who are considered elderly, low-income or disabled. The residents also were given rent increases capped to inflation, and a right-of-first-refusal on purchases.

Winthrop’s municipal leadership could do more to require such protections, or even stronger versions, across the town, Senator Edwards said.

The Parc opened in 2015, and has 53 traditional units and 20 special-care units, with no low-income options, according to state officials. The facility’s current license is for 90 units, Ms Cole said.