Court appoints receiver for vacant Latitude Five25 apartments on Near East Side
A receiver has been appointed to take over operations of the Latitude Five25 apartments on the city's Near East Side, where authorities cleared out tenants Christmas Day 2022 because of uninhabitable living conditions that included flooding after water pipes burst.
The Columbus City Attorney's Office said Monday that New Perspective Asset Management LLC is the receiver for the property. The Franklin County Environmental Court has appointed New Perspective in about 100 other cases.
New Perspective's legal counsel, Allen Stovall Neuman & Ashton LLP, as well as its broker, The Robert Weiler Co., also have experience in receivership matters. In 2022, Weiler was appointed as the receiver for the crime-plagued, 508-unit Colonial Village Apartments, 1256 Rand Ave., off East Livingston Avenue on the city's East Side.
On Aug. 30, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge in New Jersey dismissed the bankruptcy claim of Paxe Latitude, the owners of the Latitude Five25 apartments, that was filed earlier this year.
That cleared the way for the city to pursue $4.3 million in fines that Franklin County Environmental Judge Stephanie Mingo levied in February after holding Paxe Latitude in contempt for not following court orders, while also saying the problems at the apartments at 525 Sawyer Blvd. were preventable.
In addition to flooding, the apartments had issues with asbestos, heat and hot water, nonworking elevators and other health, sanitation and security issues.
The August decision also included a $1.5-million settlement for tenants. That money is coming from insurance proceeds.
The city and Lument Commercial Mortgage Trust filed the motion to appoint a receiver. Lument held the mortgage on the apartments. The court order, which Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook signed Friday, said the property has fallen into a "such a state of disrepair" that it's a public nuisance.
According to the City Attorney's Office, New Perspective will create a plan to rehab the property so it can be used again while maintaining security until the property is sold.
The receiver also will develop a plan for former tenants to retrieve any remaining personal property once asbestos is remediated.
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Court appoints receiver for vacant Latitude Five25 apartments
