The Senior Services Center of Will County has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy listing $8.4 million in debt, but its CEO said no cuts are planned in services or staff.

The nonprofit agency has provided services to local seniors for more than 60 years and took a major step two years ago when it opened the Ovation Center complex in Romeoville after acquiring a closed Target store.

The agency filed for bankruptcy on Friday and issued a news release late Tuesday that provided no financial details about its debt.

But a bankruptcy filing list of creditors shows more than $8.4 million in debt to its four largest creditors, most of it from a bank loan on the Ovation Center.

The Senior Services Center of Will County also owes $53,000 in state and federal taxes, as well as $195,000 from a cash advance.

But CEO Sheila Pardo said Wednesday that Senior Services does not plan any major cuts due to the bankruptcy filing,

“We’re going to continue all of the services,” Pardo told Shaw Local. “No one has lost their job. We’re not furloughing. We’re actually hiring.”

Chapter 11 bankruptcy typically is filed when an organization can no longer meet its debt payments and seeks relief from creditors while continuing operations.

“We’re getting back to the mission,” Pardo said. “We are not cutting any services to the seniors. We are going full speed ahead with the services that they need.”

Pardo became CEO in October following Brianne Hetman, who headed the organization as it opened the Ovation Center in January 2024.

Pardo did not discuss details of the agency’s debt or what led to the bankruptcy.

But the list of creditors in the bankruptcy petition filed by the Senior Services Center of Will County outlines the agency’s debt.

Those creditors include:

• Providence Bank in South Holland, which has a $7.8 million claim connected to the Ovation Center property at 349 S. Weber Road in Romeoville. The listing notes that $4.5 million of the debt is covered by collateral, presumably the property itself. Another $3.3 million of the debt is unsecured.

• The Illinois Department of Revenue is owed $38,000 in state taxes

• The Internal Revenue Service is owed $15,000 in federal taxes

• Samson Funding in New York is owed $195,000 from a merchant cash advance

• The Illinois Housing Development Authority in connection with a $400,000 project grant

The opening of the Ovation Center appeared to mark a robust return to financial health for an organization that in 2015 announced a financial crisis, saying at that time that it needed outside help to pay off $400,000 in debt and avoid closure.

The Senior Services Center of Will County was stabilized under new leadership that eventually launched the plan to move operations from its smaller Joliet facility to the 127,000-square-foot space it now occupies on Weber Road.

Pardo noted that the Joliet building on Center Street has been for sale for nearly two years.

The Ovation Center, a spacious facility that includes a banquet center, activity rooms and rented offices available for businesses that serve seniors, was built to launch the agency into a future of new and better services.

Pardo said in the release, “The decision to pursue Chapter 11 was not made lightly. A series of financial challenges and external circumstances made reorganization unavoidable.”

“The reorganization process will allow Senior Services Center of Will County to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and dedicate resources where they have the greatest impact,” according to the release.

“Senior Services Center of Will County will continue providing services throughout the Chapter 11 process and will share updates with stakeholders as appropriate.”

Reporter Felix Sarver contributed to this story.