May 18, 2022

Former masonic retirement home in Des Moines could be headed for the wrecking ball

Photo courtesy of Washington Trust for Historic Preservation [enlarge]

The building is also known as the ‘landmark on the sound.’

The Masonic Home of Washington sits on 27 acres at 23660 Marine View Drive S. Built in 1926, the facility used to be a retirement home for local Freemasons and also served as an events center until it was closed and sold in 2019 for $11.5 million.

Current owners, Zenith Properties LLC, have applied for a demolition permit and is seeking to demolish all existing structures and vacant buildings on the site which include a main building (approximately 129,680-square-feet), infirmary wing and addition (approximately 18,982-square-feet), a residential structure (approximately 10,000-square-feet), two maintenance buildings (each approximately 2,500-square-feet), an onsite water tower, outdoor kitchen, patio and outhouse and a fountain and associated landscape elements.

Earlier this month, the City of Des Moines issued a SEPA Determination of Significance regarding the application. The city determined that the “proposed action is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and is requiring Zenith to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement as part of their application.” This decision triggered a scoping phase to determine the “scope” of issues that would result from both the planned action and possible alternative actions, which include the historic preservation and future adaptive reuse of the site. The scoping phase includes a public comment period that will be open till June 2. In 2015, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation featured the Masonic Home of Washington in its Most Endangered Places Program.

No plans have currently been filed that suggest what could replace the buildings if they are demolished but the land is upzoned for more density and uses that could include condos, hotels, apartments, offices and commercial buildings. David Moody of Fairhaven Realty, a sales representative for the property's former owners, the Masonic Lodge, previously told the DJC that the site is “literally wide open” to future uses.