Trustees of the Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Community in southeast Denver are looking to sell the property after an explosion shuttered part of the campus this spring, though officials say the move is years in the making.
Eastern Star’s governing board announced the decision Tuesday on Facebook, describing it as an “extremely hard and reluctant decision” that was not based solely on the March 12 explosion and fire that critically injured at least seven people when construction workers hit a power line in the Robert Russell building.
The explosion displaced 87 residents in assisted-living and memory-care units, who still had not been able to return home as of late April, according to the organization’s social media.
An Eastern Star spokesperson said those residents have signed new contracts at the facilities they were transferred to after the explosion. There is no timeline for when the community’s independent living residents will have to leave.
“It has become evident in recent months the viability of our operation is being stressed,” the Board of Trustees said in a statement on Facebook. “The decreased occupancy levels since COVID, increased operational costs and increasing regulations has become a problem for smaller operations.”
The fire and explosion are being investigated by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. State officials did not respond to an email seeking an update on the investigation Wednesday.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Originally Published:
