About a month and a half after opening the Sunshine Residential Center in Florence, owner David Weseloh said he was closing the facility because of having difficulty finding someone to manage it.
The project, featured in the Oct. 28 issue of the Free Press, was intended to be a place for seniors who no longer want the hassle of maintaining a private home but don?t feel ready for an assisted-living facility.
Weseloh, a Kansas native who lives in Midland, Texas, said he plans to sell the facility, which served for years as a nursing home in Florence, on e-Bay as a turnkey operation.
Weseloh said he had hired a manager, but the person left the area last week, taking a small amount of cash and leaving the facility unlocked and ?in a mess.?
?I don?t have enough time to train somebody else,? Weseloh said. ?And every time I interviewed, they wanted a ridiculous amount of money.?
Even though the center did not have a full-time resident during the time it was opened, Weseloh said he remains convinced that his concept can be a profitable venture for someone who both owns it and operates it.
?Owning it and getting someone to run it, like I did, they?re making a big mistake,? Weseloh said. ?The person who runs this thing, if they live here on the property, they?re going to be able to do a good job.
?It was just starting to catch on, and it will take off,? Weseloh added about his housing concept.
?I know that in Kansas, there?s a lot of good people, but they are quite conservative, and they want to make sure that everything is OK before they move in.
?Nobody wants to be the first. But it will just take a little time.?
