YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — 7 News Detroit first visited the Arbor One Apartments back in mid-January after residents reached out to us concerned about the horrible living conditions inside their apartments.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Ypsilanti apartment complex tenants speak out about horrible living conditions
“The city came out, looked at my apartment, and they said I have 21 violations in my apartment alone,” said Edwina Harris, tenant at Arbor One Apartments.
Harris and her family have been living at the Arbor One Apartments for two years.
She says she’s dealt with so many issues in the apartment.
“It was multiple things. I had black mold in my bathroom, so it wasn’t healthy for the kids to stay there; they were always sick,” said Harris. “Then I had sewage backing up into my sink that my kids use. I had a shortage in my kitchen, so my stove wouldn’t turn on.”
Last week, the Washtenaw County Prosecutors office and the city of Ypsilanti filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey-based real estate operators that own Arbor One due to the number of housing and health code violations.
“To be standing here knowing what’s still behind this door is sickening,” said Leslie Acklin of Ypsilanti.
Leslie Acklin’s sister, Lisa Cole, used to live at Arbor One.
Cole died back in January. While she did have some underlying health issues, it's unclear what caused her death, but she always tried to make her apartment better for her and her son.
Acklin says her sister’s apartment was condemned by the city.
“Nobody should have been here; my nephew shouldn’t have been in here,” said Acklin.
This past Friday, during a court hearing held about Arbor One, a judge checked in to see what progress was being made to get the apartments up to code.
“We’ve completed 500 of the 7,000 problems that we’ve identified at the property thus far,” said Stewart Beal of Beal Properties.
Beal took over as the property manager for Arbor One Apartments on February 1st.
He says he has met with the property owners, and they came up with an 18-month timeline to get the apartments completely fixed up.
“We definitely will be addressing the deplorable conditions much more rapidly than 18 months. I’m not saying that someone needs to live in their apartment with mold and cockroaches for 18 months,” said Beal. “If they have those issues, we’ll resolve those issues now.”
Web extra: Stewart Beal interview
Meanwhile, Edwina Harris and her family have been put into a renovated apartment due to the issues with her old one, and she hopes other residents at Arbor One get to live in better conditions.
“We all still deserve to live someplace that is clean and healthy and an environment that is thriving,” said Harris.
