The Cedars at the JCA appears to be getting both a new owner and a new name.

The senior care facility is being acquired by Mark Suissa, who operates six skilled nursing facilities, including three in the St. Louis area. Ownership is set to transfer on Tuesday, March 27. When the deal closes, the 252-bed institution will be known as the Cedars of Town & Country.

“I want to reassure the residents of the facility that our objective has always been to treat our residents as if they were our own family members, with dignity, love, and the highest level of nursing care,” said Suissa. “Our focus is ‘hands-on’ where each resident is treated as an individual, and whose needs will be met with skill and compassion.”

The change in ownership is the latest chapter in the saga of the Cedars, which has been in a period of flux since defaulting on its mortgage seven years ago. After being auctioned off to an affiliate of Lehman Brothers, the institution was the subject of a protracted court fight over attempts to foreclose on the property. By 2010, the board of the struggling enterprise found itself unable to put together an effective refinancing plan to mount a rescue effort.

Instead, an understanding was struck under which the board was removed from day-to-day operations but the new owners agreed to maintain the Jewish “ambience” of the Cedars, also known as the West County Regional Rehab Center, for at least a limited period, mentioned at the time by then-Executive Vice President Barry Rosenberg as three years.

Traditions Management, already in place at the Cedars for two years, continued to operate the facility. Traditions will depart the Cedars with the acquisition to Suissa later this month.

“We are very proud to have contributed to The Cedars 105-year legacy of setting superior standards for senior living for the St. Louis community and are confident that new ownership will carry that legacy forward,” said Ben Atkins, chairman of Traditions, according to statement he released.

Lisa Niehaus, administrator of the facility, will remain in that position. She referred questions to the new management.

Suissa said holiday observances, kosher food and the synagogue would remain in place and that the Jewish character of the facility would continue.

“We hope to maintain it for good,” he said. “As long as we have Jewish residents there, we want to reach out to the Jewish community who need placement for their loved ones.”

Suissa said he had not yet been in contact with representatives from the Jewish community but hoped to do so.

He said he did not wish to disclose the purchase price of the facility and said it was still too early to have any plans regarding rates.

“We don’t have anything specific at this time,” he said. “We’re not there yet.”

Ken Rubin, president of the JCA board and JCA Charitable Foundation, said he had just heard of the move and had conferred with an attorney knowledgeable on the matter.

“As far as he knows, there is no reason those commitments won’t be honored,” said Rubin referring to the understanding reached in 2010. “Nobody has informed us that there is any reason to believe that those commitments that were entered into wouldn’t be honored.”

The board is largely inactive now though the foundation does still control eight acres of nearby land that is not affected by the deal at this time.

Suissa is said to have more than three decades of experience in the skilled nursing industry. The other nursing homes he runs in St. Louis area are Cori Manor, Grand Manor and Northview Village.