Medalion West, a 12-story retirement center on downtown ColoradoSprings' eastern edge that's home to 106 senior citizens, is beingclosed and sold by operator Centura Health and will be turned intoapartments or condominiums.
The deal is a testament to the increasing demand for downtownhousing.
But it also caught Medalion West residents off guard, said KarenHoskins, vice president of senior services for Centura Health. Theclosing is planned for Jan. 31.
The Englewood-based Centura says it's committed to relocatingresidents and will work with them and their families during the nextfew months.
If space is available, some residents might move to MedalionEast, a Centura-owned retirement home at Union Boulevard and BijouStreet in the Springs. Other alternatives are Centura facilities inDenver or Pueblo, as well as other non-Centura centers in the Springsor elsewhere.
Medalion West, near the southeast corner of Wahsatch Avenue andKiowa Street, is being purchased by Belvedere Enterprises LLC, acompany formed solely to acquire and remodel the property.
David Crane, Centura's executive vice president, said the closingof Medalion West was a financial decision. The 39-year-old buildingneeds major upgrades and Centura lacks the capital to invest. Thebuilding has no central air conditioning system and needsimprovements to its windows, elevators, kitchen, apartments and roof.
'I'm sure on the eve of this decision, they (residents) maydisagree,' Crane said. 'But it's just not a facility that we think wecan be proud of on a going-forward basis.'
Centura Health operates nine other senior-living facilitatesalong the Front Range, none of which is affected by the Medalion Westdecision. Money from the sale of the building will be pumped backinto other Centura senior centers, Crane said.
Of the 106 residents, about three-fourths live independently andthe rest receive assistance. The building is 87 percent occupied.
Les Gruen, a longtime downtown booster and owner of UrbanStrategies, a local real estate consulting and development firm, ismanaging partner of Belvedere Enterprises.
Belvedere has contracted to buy the building for an undisclosedprice, he said. He declined to reveal the date when the deal isscheduled to be completed, but said the goal is to market theproperty by the end of 2002 .
What type of housing it will contain is unknown. Gruen saidBelvedere hasn't decided whether the building will be converted tocondominiums or apartments.
The next several months will be spent conceiving designs andplans for the 93,000-square-foot building, Gruen said.
Despite an economic slowdown, Gruen said Belvedere is 'firmlycommitted' to the project. Downtown backers long have identified theneed for area housing, and Belvedere thinks the market will be there.The building is less than a 10-minute walk from downtown.
'People are looking for ways they can enhance their quality oflife and getting out of their car, to be able to walk where they wantto go, is a tremendous asset, and certainly will favor this buildingas downtown housing,' Gruen said.
- Rich Laden may be reached at 636-0228 or rladen@gazette.com
