BRECKENRIDGE – Residents of 45 units in Vail Resort’s Breckenridge Terrace employee housing complex have until the end of the month to vacate their units after environmental consultants announced they think mold exists in every building.

Managers found mold in seven units last month, and further tests indicate there is probably mold in every unit of the 17-building employee housing complex on Airport Road – a problem that could take anywhere from eight months to a year to rectify.

“Being the glass-half-full kind of guy, I was hoping we could use half (the units),” said Rick Smith, vice president of human resources for the ski company.

“Some (mold) you can’t even see. We haven’t gone into every unit and torn out the drywall and removed refrigerators, but based on what consultants have seen, they think it’s everywhere. We think we’re going to have to move everybody out.”

Industrial hygienist Joan Wickersheim, whom Vail Resorts hired to locate the mold, has found mold behind appliances, under vanities and in the walls. Mold thrives in moist conditions, which are often exacerbated by tight construction and condensation caused by varying temperatures inside and out.

Next week, Vail Resorts officials plan to hire a firm to conduct a forensics construction examination to determine the cause of the mold and outline possible solutions.

“Is it a lack of ventilation?” Smith said. “Is it the role uninsulated pipes play, could it be the windows in there? Do we have to take roofs off, exchange our entire window package, exchange the sliding glass doors? Pull up carpets? It could be a variety of those options.”

A more immediate concern among resort officials is finding new homes for the residents. Many voluntarily moved to Breckenridge Mountain Lodge, but can only stay there until Nov. 21. Those who chose to stay behind have until the end of the month to leave.

Resort officials have secured master leases on about 40 other residential units in town and others outside the town limits. Vail Resorts also plans to refund residents’ October rent and waive November’s rent to help them find housing elsewhere.

They also are telling returning seasonal employees they are trying to secure leases or are suggesting they find their own housing until the buildings have been cleaned, Smith said.

Some Hispanics, however, have complained that they are being relocated to different areas than other residents. Emily Jacob, public relations director for the Breckenridge Ski Resort, said Vail Resorts officials determine where people will be placed depending on whether they are short- or long-term residents at Breckenridge Terrace.

Most of the Hispanic families living there are long-term residents and are being relocated to places that have such amenities as kitchens. Additionally, the ski company offers free lunch and dinner each day at the Maggie Restaurant at the Village at Breckenridge. So far, only about 35 people each day take advantage of that, Jacobs said.

“If anything, we’ve been more sympathetic to the Hispanic population,” she said. “Many of them don’t drive, many of them are friends, and many of them have children at Upper Blue Elementary.”

The ski resort, she noted, is providing free bus transportation for the students.

Resort officials are also considering options that might be available with Keystone’s employee housing, which raises questions about the impact of additional students at Summit Cove Elementary School and whether employees would be willing to commute from the Snake River Valley to Breckenridge to work.

Once the consulting firm determines the problem and outlines potential solutions, the ski resort will begin that work and might pursue legal action, Smith said.

“If you moved into a million-dollar house and it didn’t work for you, you’d be asking who and how and why,” he said. “We spent more than $20 million on this project. It is some of the best employee housing – we thought – in the country. But it’s not working that way. We don’t even know whose responsible. We’re not there yet.”

Jane Stebbins can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 228, or jstebbins@summitdaily.com.