Latitude Five25 costs escalate for Columbus taxpayers as City Council OKs cash payments

The bill to Columbus city taxpayers to cover costs to help residents of the privately owned Latitude Five25 apartment complex, who were forced to evacuate at Christmas due to environmental hazards and flooding from broken and frozen pipes, continues to escalate.

Actions taken by Columbus City Council on Monday increased to $1.3 million what the city has contributed since January. The council approved another $533,400 toward rental assistance, and on top of that $265,000 for direct cash payments and furniture purchases to assist former residents of the twin apartment towers, who were forced to suddenly relocate amid escalating city housing affordability issues.

Previous reporting: 'There was no playbook.' How one evacuation exposed fractures in Columbus' housing

The direct assistance "will be a one-time direct cash payment to lease holders," Council member Lourdes Barroso De Padilla said. "... Payment amounts will be determined by household size and an estimate of monthly expenses" as determined by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

It wasn't clear Monday if there was an upper limit to payments or how many among the 154 households qualified.

The Tony R. Wells Foundation, a Columbus-based private family foundation, will administer both the rental and cash assistance payments, the ordinance said.

More: Dozens were kicked out of these Near East Side apartments. It's happened there before

Deputy Economic Development Director Quinten Harris said that as of April 18, 131 households have found new housing, and 110 move-ins have been scheduled or completed, with prioritization given to pregnant mothers, seniors and those with health issues.

"The remainder are in various stages," Harris said. "There are a few residents who have either left the state or have moved in with other family members. The remaining members are in various stages of getting relocated, and we are working with them to find them housing as well."

Harris said he believed a few people are still living in hotels that were utilized to provide temporary housing following the late-December problems that shut down the high-rise buildings that can be seen from along Interstate 670 near Downtown.

More: Some former Latitude residents must vacate motels Monday. What's next?

Many of the residents had to leave their belongings behind when the building was condemned because of asbestos issues and flooding, and elevator issues have continued to be a problem, officials said.

In January, City Council approved paying $765,662 to the Wells Foundation to provide relocation support and rental assistance for the residents, including partial rent payments to cover increased costs over the rent at Latitude Five25.

The problems at the twin 15-story buildings at 525 Sawyer Blvd. started on Dec. 23, when a sprinkler head broke after someone had left a sliding door open, allowing subzero air inside. On Christmas Day, water started flowing down the walls after breaks in lines, and the city decided to evacuate the buildings as inspectors discovered other problems.

Once a public-housing complex known as Sawyer Towers, the buildings faced demolition at one point, but a private real-estate company purchased them in 2009 and renovated them as Skyview Towers. In October 2021, Paxe Latitude bought the property.

Facing more than $4 million in city fines resulting from the dilapidated state of the towers and to refund rent paid by residents, Paxe filed for bankruptcy in federal court in New Jersey. Last week, the city of Columbus lost a bid to get the case transferred to Ohio. That required the city Monday night to double, to $100,000, the amount that it needed to maintain legal counsel through a law firm in New Jersey, as " continuation of the bankruptcy case (in a federal bankruptcy court in the Garden State) will require additional court appearances and filings."

In other business Monday, City Council approved the Public Safety Department hiring a broker to sell one of its police helicopters, which has sat in a hangar on the Hilltop for the last 30 months. Air Flite will serve as broker to sell the Bell 407GXi helicopter, with proceeds going to enhance the remaining four-helicopter fleet by purchasing new equipment, and "maintain our flight hours by retaining our complement of 5 helicopters," the ordinance said.

While the Public Safety Department had said last year that it was reducing its helicopter fleet from five to four to address public concerns regarding the noise, intrusiveness, cost and military-feel of the police helicopter program, department spokesman Glenn McEntyre said the plan now is to purchase a fifth helicopter in the future — but from manufacturer McDonnell Douglas instead of Bell. The city's other four helicopters are all made by McDonnell Douglas.

The city once had a fleet of six police helicopters. It purchased its first Bell model in an announced 2019 switch to that company following a cost dispute with McDonnell Douglas. But public complaints about the helicopters' operation became a major issue after protests swept across Columbus in 2020 following the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd Jr. by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Columbus City Council began holding up funds for technology equipment needed for the Bell.

A cap on the fleet at four choppers had been pushed by former Council member Elizabeth Brown, but council tabled it on a 4-3 vote in September 2020.

wbush@gannett.com

@ReporterBush

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Latitude Five25 residents to get city cash for rent, furniture