Residents have expressed concerns that a former care home could be transformed into accommodation for the homeless.
Staff at Buchanan House in Fraserburgh left their jobs on Sunday, with its final resident moving on to another facility within the port.
The closure of the home, which had operated for about 30 years, happened just a year after the Care Inspectorate branded employees as “exhausted”.
The amenity’s operator, Inverness firm Marchmont Homes Ltd, owned by Eleanor Mackay, has been unavailable to comment on the building’s future.
However, neighbours are fearful it could be snapped up by a buyer keen to develop the property for homeless accommodation.
One neighbour, who lives near the building on Victoria Street, claimed residents were worried about the problems that could follow.
He added: “Recently, we heard it was going to become homeless accommodation which increased our concerns.
“Although everyone is entitled to a place to live, we do not want the problems associated with that type of accommodation on our doorsteps.”
Fraserburgh councillor Brian Topping added he had cut short planned holiday time to meet Ms Mackay at the home.
He said: “I was told that she was the owner and that it was either on or going on the market.
“She didn’t say if there were plans in place. But the fact is the place wasn’t as busy it should be and there wasn’t the demand that there had been in the past. The decision was to close.
“It’s such a large house, so it’s not as if you would imagine a family would go into it. I think people are interested in what is going to happen – and a bit apprehensive about what may or may not go there.”
Homeless charity Shelter responded it could not comment on the speculation surrounding the building’s future.
Last year, staff from the home told inspectors they had no time to talk to the people they were supposed to be looking after, because they felt “overstretched”.
A team from the watchdog concluded the only reason the facility was running safely was the “goodwill” of staff and the shifts they were working – “frequently in excess of 50 hours a week and for seven or eight consecutive days without a day off”.