MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The landlord to three of the city’s most troubled apartment complexes was put on notice.
The Shelby County Commission gave Global Ministries 60 days to fix problems before it they get sent to the feds.
Warren, Tulane, and Goodwill Village Apartments are known for crime and horrible living conditions.
The properties are subsidized with tax dollars.
A large stack of problems is what code enforcement officials found at the complexes.
“It’s been all type of chaos, and it makes no sense that they don’t care about the people,” Jessica Peterson said.
Frustrated residents, like Peterson, voiced their concerns to Shelby County Commissioners.
“Tend to the things that need to be tended to so that people are not living in squall,” another resident said.
County leaders proposed a resolution urging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to step in and suspend Section 8 funding for the properties until steps were taken to create safer living environments.
“It was a surprise to us quite frankly,” Richard Hamlet, the president of Global Ministries, said.
Hamlet said the company had been working with the county to fix up problems inside the apartments.
However, the resolution focused only on crime at the properties.
“We’re spending much more per unit for security then other owners in other properties are. But still it’s a concern,” Hamlet said.
Hamlet said the company hired private security and were working toward becoming a Safeways certified community.
Safeways, Inc leaders said the complexes have a long way to go.
“The fact of the matter is crime is still too high at all of these properties,” Janine Heiner Buchanan, managing director of Safeways Inc, said. “They’ve been high-crime properties for a long time. There are a lot of reasons for that, and it’s going to take some time to address all of those issues.”
Commissioners are expecting an update from Global Ministries in 30 days.
