444 Park Apartments in Richmond Heights still facing criticism from tenants
Jan. 30—Tenants at 444 Park Apartments in Richmond Heights are still facing issues with their buildings.
Several residents recently came to a City Council meeting to speak out about the living conditions at the apartments, located at 440 Richmond Park Drive.
Resident Mellishia Clark said that her mother who is disabled and uses a walker has not been able to walk around freely due to having water back up into her apartment. Clark stated during the council meeting that she has had to call the fire department in the past due to elevators not being in service as well.
Another resident, Siobhan Adams, described having to sleep with her sliding glass door open in the winter to avoid mildew and mold. She said that she wants to know if the citations that Richmond Heights has issued in the past have been followed up on.
"One thing I have to ask is what are the checks and balances that actually go and see what they are saying is true?" Adams asked council. "The reason why I ask is because the bottom floor of my building is condemned, and no one is addressing that here. There is no one living there, all the doors stay open, and it's filled with mildew and mold.
"The carpet that is in my hallway on the second floor is wet," she added. "I keep trying to keep it clean myself because that's where I stay. And I encourage people around me to do the same. But I can't keep the apartment up more than the managing company managing the apartment."
Richmond Heights Department of Building, Zoning and Housing has issued notices of violations of occupancy certificates to 444 Park Apartments in the past. One notice of violation in 2022 showed that inspectors found, among other violations, that owners failed to maintain water pipes inside their buildings which lead to burst pipes and leaks.
"The potable water system is failing," the 2022 report stated. "This failure has caused plumbing pipes to burst without notice. The potable water system requires installation of properly sized thermal expansion tanks due to the unusually high-water pressure in the City of Richmond Heights."
The report stated that fixes to the plumbing and other infrastructure of the building were made without permits, which could cause unexpected failure to the water systems. The report also went on to state that leaks have caused damage to other parts of the building as well.
"The damage caused by the building owners' failure to maintain the building according to its original approval has caused excessive, persistent water leaks throughout many areas of the building." the report stated. "This has caused damage or caused the removal of numerous ceilings and/or wall finishes that are now missing, moldy and unsanitary, bug infested show signs of mushroom growth within individual apartment suites and many common areas of the building."
An additional adjudication order was made in January 2023 showing that several of the issues listed in past reports were still not resolved.
Additionally, the report stated that entrance and exit doors had no ability to lock and that the door communication systems for any of the buildings were not present or inoperative. Exit and emergency lighting in stairways and other areas were also missing or not functioning.
Richmond Heights Building Commissioner Bill Gallagher said in response to one resident that he was going to take down her information and follow up with the additional complaints.
"We are now aware of it, and we appreciate you coming in and letting us know about it," Gallagher said. "...we need you (the residents) to come forward and let us have this information as soon as you know. We were not aware of the situation on the second floor carpeting."
It's unclear what actions the owners of 444 Park Apartments have taken to address these violations. Documents only show the owners being associated with 444 Apartments as ABL Venture Capital Group LLC and E & M Associates I LLC, both New York-based companies, with RHM Real Estate Group actually managing day-to-day operations.
The owners list no email addresses or phone numbers besides the leasing office. Their attorney is also not known. When the leasing office was called, no response was received by the time of this writing.
