After delays in the process originally set to begin earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin the demolition of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose on April 16, beginning with a ceremony for the families of victims.

EPA on-scene coordinator Valeriy Bizyayev said at a Wednesday press conference in Cañon City that preliminary site work had already begun as EPA contractors spray insecticide and disinfectants on the property and conduct environmental monitoring. Bizyayev warned that nearby residents would see increased activity at the site and may smell the vinegar-based disinfectant.

The building, located along Colorado 115 at 31 Werner Rd., was the site of a horrific discovery last fall — nearly 200 improperly stored bodies, some of which had been decaying for years. Jon and Carie Hallford, the owners of the building tied to their funeral home practice, are facing hundreds of felony charges related to the discovery.

Bizyayev said that after the ceremony at 9 a.m. next Tuesday the site will be closed to the public. Crews will push the building down into its footprint before securing materials in lined and wrapped trucks for delivery to the Otero County landfill. The building footprint will then be scraped down to healthy soil.

He said that the process would eliminate health and safety concerns related to the property.

“At that point there really is no environmental hazard,” Bizyayev said. “There is no public safety hazard.”

According to Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller, 18 bodies of the 189 found at the property remain unidentified. He said that the process of identifying the bodies with DNA was underway, but would “still take months.”

At the press conference, Keller urged family members not to reach out to provide DNA samples but wait for the office to contact them.

As for what happens to the property after the demolition, officials could not definitively say. Fremont County Commissioner Kevin Grantham said that the property, still owned by the Hallfords with unpaid property tax bills, is not yet under the purview of the county.

“At this point it’s really unknown,” he said.

Bizyayev said the EPA has a current cost recovery and enforcement case started against the owners. He said that the current cost of demolition and cleanup is above $200,000.