The property that was home to skilled nursing facility Brandel Manor was sold last month, but what happens next with the site remains unclear.
Located at 1801 N. Olive Ave., across the street from Emanuel Medical Center, Brandel Manor notified patients last January that it was ceasing operations. It has been vacant since.
Covenant Ministries of Benevolence, an Illinois-based non-profit, sold the facility to 1801 N Olive LLC, with Yehuda Schmukler, Simcha Mandelbaum, and Richard Martin — all of Southern California — listed as managers on a document filed with the California Secretary of State’s office.
Internet records show that all three have been associated with multiple skilled nursing facilities.
An internet search of “Yehuda Schmukler” led to a website for Agmen Capital, a venture capitalist firm that lists he and Sarah Tsikman as the sole members of the Agmen “team.”
A woman identifying herself as Sarah answered the Turlock Journal’s phone call seeking to speak with Schmukler. It was explained that that Journal was inquiring about the Brandel Manor property.
“This is a work number,” she said. “I have nothing to comment on.”
The woman was asked if it was the phone number for Agmen Capital.
“Goodbye,” she said before hanging up.
Another attempt to contact Schmukler was made the following day and resulted in a similar exchange, with the same woman brusquely ending the call.
The Los Angeles Times reported on July 9, 2020, that Schmukler and Elliot Zemel co-owned Lakeview Terrace, a skilled nursing facility in Los Angeles. It was alleged by then LA city attorney Mike Feuer that Lakeview Terrace engaged in “illegally ‘dumping’ old and disabled residents onto the street and into homes that (were) not equipped to care for them” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another lawsuit against Lakeview Terrace, filed by Hand-in-Hand Homecare, Inc. and Generous Hand Homecare, remains tied up in the courts. The parties have been in litigation since August 2023 for an alleged breach of contract (two counts) and a breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Turlock City Manager Reagan Wilson said he was aware that the property had sold, but that nothing in the way of development has taken place between the city and the new owners.
“Adrienne Werner, our director of development services, and I have had a conversation,” said Wilson. “And in that conversation I told her that anything that comes up regarding that facility, she needs to inform me. And she hasn’t called me. There hasn’t been a permit application; there hasn’t been pre-development request for meeting. There’s been no activity.”
A condition of the sale, listed in the grant deed documents, prohibits 1801 N Olive LLC from using the property as “a shelter for the homeless,” “transitional housing for the homeless,” or “psychological/behavior housing or treatment centers” through 2034.
In addition to attempts to reach Schmukler by phone, the Journal sent two emails via the Agmen Capital email address. There has been no response.