Families forced out after Lansing red tags apartment building

LANSING — Residents in a 29-unit housing complex were forced out of their homes Wednesday after city officials deemed the property unsafe.

Residents said they are frustrated with the city of Lansing and Simtob Management after Lansing code enforcement staff placed red tags on every unit at the Holmes Apartment complex at 2222 W. Holmes Street Wednesday. The tags signify the city has deemed the units to be unsafe to live in.

Resident Monica Sloane on Wednesday afternoon said she was worried about where she and her daughter were going to move because they're "down to our last $100."

Alec Vincent, vice president of Simtob Management, was at the complex Wednesday but declined to comment to a State Journal reporter. In a response to emailed questions, he said a 10 a.m. walk-through with city of Lansing officials prompted the red tags.

"Throughout the day on March 22, 2023, our management team completely shifted focus to ensure we could help find new apartments for the tenants at Holmes Apartments," Vincent wrote.

Eight people were previously relocated because of drywall issues and water damage, he said.

Vincent did not respond to questions about how long residents will be displaced for, if the company has heard from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or what happens if residents don't want to stay in a Simtob property. He also declined to characterize the condition of other Simtob properties.

Scott Bean, a spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor, said about 15 apartments were occupied and all residents were being relocated to other Simtob properties. He said in an email Thursday the city learned some tenants were being moved to Simtob's 1317 E. Kalamazoo Street property, which is pink-tagged because the property lacks a valid rental certificate.

"The building is scheduled to be inspected next week by the city, but we working to move that timeline up to (Friday). In the meantime, Simtob has been told they must place those residents in a hotel until the City performs and inspection and approves their rental certificate," he wrote.

He added that other Simtob-managed properties will be reviewed, based on what city employees saw what Holmes Apartment looked like earlier.

"Between code enforcement and building safety, they're going to put some eyes on their other properties again after seeing what this one looked like," he said.

He added the city doesn't have resources to rehouse people and that red-tagging the entire complex was a last resort situation. Simtob has told the city they will rehouse everyone, he said.

The city on Wednesday had understood that the apartment company had units in other complexes available and that no one would be without housing, Bean said.

Any and all residents who are moving will have help moving their items, Vincent wrote.

"Simtob Management will be helping these residents move their items and belongings into their new homes Thursday through the end of the day Friday."

All residents who spoke to the State Journal said they've been fighting with the management company for months to repair the building's roof and several units that were in disrepair.

Chad Campell moved into his unit in December and didn't have any issues besides bugs. He had moved items out of his unit Wednesday and Thursday. Sloane lives several doors down from him with her daughter and said she's faced issues since she moved in last April.

"My back bedroom, the ceiling's caved in and insulation is falling out," she said. "It smells like mold."

Sloane said she filed several maintenance requests with the company, and they provided her with a dehumidifier back in November. The maintenance crew removed the equipment as roofers began work on the building.

Elsewhere in her unit, Sloane said rust has built up in her bathroom and dripped along the walls, and a painter did a shoddy job of painting door trims and mismatched walls. She recalled an employee from the city's code enforcement staff visited the building in the fall before and was aware of the roof's poor status and threatened to red tag the building.

"They patched it and made it look good, and he came back out and he was 'no,' and it's just been a hot mess since then," Sloane said.

Vincent confirmed roof work started on Jan. 5 and faced trouble continuing work due to "dangerous" weather conditions.

"If we can continue work, we are on track to complete the roof and interior damage by the end of April," he said.

A leasing agent who identified herself as Lee but declined to give her last name handed out lease renewals to residents on Wednesday. She told a State Journal reporter she was notified about the complex's state on Wednesday.

Patrick Barnes and a roommate declined to sign the leases. His unit has a caved-in ceiling, roaches, an exposed wall open for several months and smoke build-up from a lower unit's fire, he said.

"Simtob Management failed real bad because they took the money and didn't do what they were supposed to do," he said. "I've lived here for over a year in pure hell."

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Families forced out after Lansing red tags apartment building