Former Leopold Residents are all Re-Housed!
March 11, 2019
The Leopold Retirement Residence completes transition of residents
The Leopold Retirement Residence in downtown Bellingham has closed after all 79 of the people who were living there in December moved to new homes.
The last person living in The Leopold moved March 9, according to Dan Hammill, a Bellingham housing specialist contracted by The Leopold to help residents find new housing.
Citing rising costs and declining occupancy, The Leopold announced in December it was closing the retirement business by March 31.
The Leopold worked with many local senior housing providers, social service agencies, and families, to help residents find new homes, according to Peter Frazier, executive director of The Leopold. Frazier said that the ownership of the Leopold relaxed their notification requirements significantly and asked only that residents pay for the days they occupied their apartments, allowing residents to more quickly and easily move into new housing.
Hammill met individually with many residents and their families to address their needs and connect them with housing opportunities as well as the resources of organizations and government agencies.
Also, The Leopold's employees were provided the services of a human-resources specialist to aid them in their career transition.
“We’re thankful to our staff who did such a great job caring for our residents through this difficult time,” Frazier said. “We also thank all of the volunteers who assisted residents with packing and moving their belongings.”
Plans for future use of the structure at 1224 Cornwall Ave., originally built in 1929 as a hotel and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be announced by the building’s owners later this spring, Frazier said.
The Leopold Retirement Residence in downtown Bellingham has closed after all 79 of the people who were living there in December moved to new homes.
The last person living in The Leopold moved March 9, according to Dan Hammill, a Bellingham housing specialist contracted by The Leopold to help residents find new housing.
Citing rising costs and declining occupancy, The Leopold announced in December it was closing the retirement business by March 31.
The Leopold worked with many local senior housing providers, social service agencies, and families, to help residents find new homes, according to Peter Frazier, executive director of The Leopold. Frazier said that the ownership of the Leopold relaxed their notification requirements significantly and asked only that residents pay for the days they occupied their apartments, allowing residents to more quickly and easily move into new housing.
Hammill met individually with many residents and their families to address their needs and connect them with housing opportunities as well as the resources of organizations and government agencies.
Also, The Leopold's employees were provided the services of a human-resources specialist to aid them in their career transition.
“We’re thankful to our staff who did such a great job caring for our residents through this difficult time,” Frazier said. “We also thank all of the volunteers who assisted residents with packing and moving their belongings.”
Plans for future use of the structure at 1224 Cornwall Ave., originally built in 1929 as a hotel and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be announced by the building’s owners later this spring, Frazier said.
