Another Apartment Building Condemned

Warsaw Building Inspector Pam Kennedy on Tuesday condemned eight more units of Glen Terrace Apartments on Walter Way.

"We condemned (building number) 652 on Tuesday," Kennedy said. "We had a meeting with the owner (John Call), the managers and the mortgage holders (Sterling Management)."

She said the mortgage firm representatives "were very concerned about getting this done."

This is the second building condemned in the apartment complex. The first building was condemned June 5.

The complex, consisting of five buildings with eight units per building, lacks fire separation between apartments and, Kennedy said, the floor joists are not up to code.

She also said Call was given several notices depicting the fire separation violations, but he claimed Tuesday that he didn't realize the severity of the problem. He said he thought Sterling Management was handling the issue.

"Our plans at this time are to condemn one building per week," Kennedy said.

Kennedy also said only three units in the building she condemned this week were occupied and those three residents have made arrangements to vacate the property.

"(The) other three buildings are pretty vacant at this point," Kennedy said. "This is a hard thing for these people (residents) and some of them have lived there for a long time."

Kennedy said she will meet with Call, the managers and Sterling Management again this Tuesday.

"The owner stated he will bring us a plan to fix the fire separation," Kennedy said. "We're still going to keep condemning one (building) per week."

Kennedy also said Call is expected to provide an "estimated start time and finish time" to complete the work needed.

"I'm hoping this moves it forward," she said.

If corrections start right away, Kennedy said, Call will be able to move residents into the compliant building.

But, corrected or not, the residents in building 641 aren't budging.

"Everybody's staying 'till the end,'" Kennedy said.

Mark Denz and his son are two of those people staying.

"I don't know anything that's going on," Denz said. "We're kept in the dark."

Denz has lived at Glen Terrace for five months and doesn't have any hot water. He said everytime he goes to the office to speak to management "nobody's down there."

Denz is not alone.

A resident in building 641, who asked not to be named also has not been able to reach Call or management.

"I think it's very sad that this has happened," the resident said. "There's people living on the streets because they can't find anything."

She also said an elderly man living in the building is now in the hospital from overdosing as a way out of the situation at hand.

"People are very frantic," she said.

And so far, she, too has not found a place to live.

The unnamed woman has been a Glen Terrace resident for nine years and is disabled. She has no income other than child support from her ex-husband and the income of her 17-year-old son.

"There's people that just can't pay the rent," she said of other Warsaw rental properties.

"If they take this place away, there's no low-income places to live," she said.

"People need homes that have low income," she said. "I'm disappointed that the town has let this happen. I'm disappointed in the whole situation."

Residents said they did not learn of the condemnation, nor were they warned, until May.

As for Call, residents said he spoke with them recently, but, told them to "keep their mouths shut."

Carolyn Grow also has experienced difficulties at the complex.

Grow has lived at Glen Terrace for 15 years.

"You can tell it's a dirt hole," Grow said. "The carpet is so old mold is growing between the floor and carpet."

Grow said she has severe allergies to the point that her voice is effected. But, Grow is not the only one living in the complex that has health problems.

"Most everyone here is sick because it's so dirty," Grow said.

Four years ago, Grow said she gave her prescription receipts to Sterling Management to see if anything could be done about the dirt and dust in the carpets. Grow said she was told by Sterling Management: "You're going to have to wait in line."

Grow is still waiting in line.

"Call wouldn't fix these places up," Grow said, "or if he did fix it, he didn't fix it right."

Call also has claimed to paint the apartment walls every three years, Grow said.

Grow lived in one apartment for 11 years and her current one for four years and she said no one has painted the walls yet.

She said sewer problems are common at Glen Terrace.

"The sewer backed up last week," Grow said, adding that waste came up through her washing machine.

Grow also said kitchen cabinets are falling off the walls.

The unnamed woman said a cabinet fell on her toe, causing a broken bone.

Grow also said the cement floors are falling through, there's water stains on the ceilings and the "wiring in these apartments are really bad."

But, recently, Call began speaking to some of the tenants. Grow said he stops by just to tell them he's going to fix things.

She also said most of the trees outside are "rotted out and need to be taken out." So far, she said, she has spent $8,000 to repair her car from limbs falling on it.

When Grow told Sterling Management about the damage to her car due to the rotted trees, she said they told her it was an "'act of God' and laughed."

Tenants also paid a deposit when they moved into the complex and some paid extra for pets.

"They claim if we leave a self-addressed envelope (in the office) they will (send the deposit) back to us," Grow said. "(But,) I know they're not going to."

"There are no papers in the office," Grow said. "They've pulled all their paperwork out."

In fact, she said, they don't even have any records of her deposit.

"The landlord (Call) claims he's going to fix these things," she said.

The unnamed woman said Call told tenants he received no notification of the "situation" his apartments were in.

Now, the "situation" is forcing residents out of their homes.

"All of a sudden we have to move," Grow said, "and we have no money. This town is going to pot with all the properties condemned."

Tenants also said Call and Sterling Management "threaten to sue us all the time."

What grounds does Call have to sue the tenants? "We have no idea," Grow said.

"They try to scare us into keeping quiet," Grow said. "We're not trying to get anyone into trouble."

Tenants just want a safe, suitable place to live.

Tenants are scared - scared to speak against Call, scared to tell their side of the story and scared to lose their homes.

"(We're) afraid (our) properties will get condemned," Grow said of the next place they find to live. She also said it's difficult to find a landlord who will rent to them because their current residence is in the process of condemnation.

"It's not our faults," Grow said. "We didn't know this until a month ago."

Tenants are now mulling over the possibility of turning the tables and suing Call.

"Some people hope and pray they're going to fix up (the apartments) so they'll have a place to live," the unnamed woman said. "A lot of these people are old and sick."

Tenants want to know how these apartments passed Warsaw housing code "all these years."

Kennedy said the problems addressed in the past were taken care of, therefore, condemnation wasn't necessary.

Tenants also are afraid that the next place they live in will not pass code either. They're frantic and they're scared. Some are wondering if the housing authorities hold them accountable for the "dirt hole" they reside in.

"Everybody (tenants) have been helping each other (find places to live)," Grow said.

So far these tenants haven't had any luck.

"Due to the price of rent in Warsaw, you can't (even) afford to eat," Grow said.

Tenants are frantic, scared and are no longer keeping quiet.

The Times-Union was unsuccessful in reaching Call.