Oak Manor apartments have a new lease on existence.
Columbus City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to lift a demolition order for the Southside apartment complex issued last October after hearing an ambitious renovation plan from its new owner, Atlanta-based Edmond Green.
Green appeared before the council along with his property manager, Lorenzo Francis, and Columbus-based contractor Tom Hatcher.
Together they pitched a renovation plan with an estimated cost of between $1.2 million and $1.6 million.
The council voted 4-3 in October 2021 to demolish the complex, which was declared a health and safety menace. Mayor Keith Gaskin cast the deciding vote after the council deadlocked on whether to tear down the dilapidated structures.
Since then Oak Manor has sat in limbo, as the city doesn’t have the equipment to actually tear the complex down itself. Although there are 61 units spread across 13 buildings located at 901 11th St. S., at the time it was condemned only about 18 residents lived in the entire complex.
Green bought the complex in February from its former owner, Robert Merchant of California. He said he intended to renovate it in phases stretching over 18 to 24 months.
“We would like to tear out about 90 percent of the sheetrock in each unit, and tear out the majority of the kitchens,” Green said. “… New bathrooms, new HVAC systems where needed. There’s about seven new hot water heaters that aren’t even two years old.”
He said he intended to do “minimal” landscaping.
“We don’t want to spend money on things that are not life-altering,” Green said. “We want it to be decent and clean.”
The estimates do not include replacing roofs, he said.
“We went up and looked at four units today, and believe it or not two of those roofs had been totally redone,” he said. “We think the (water damage) inside those units was from older leaks.”
Green said renovations will start with the 21 one-bedroom units, which are the buildings on the perimeter of the property.
“We want to start with 11th Street, which is the most eye-catching area,” he said. “It’s also the smallest units and the easiest to renovate. Those 21 units and then the eight two-bedrooms will be the first done.”
Once those are done, Green said he will move on to the buildings on the inner part of the complex.
Green told the council he didn’t know about the demolition order on the property until August.
“The title work was done and there was no cloud on the title,” he said. “There was no sign on the property. If I’d known I probably would not have purchased that property. When (Building Official Kenny Wiegel) talked to me the first time, I was sick to my stomach.”
Hatcher told the council he believes the work can be done for between $1.2 million and $1.6 million.
“There’s a lot of things this property has going for it,” he said. “It’s got a good foundation. The bones are good. The electrical panels probably can stay. You’re not necessarily gutting out everything.”
Hatcher said he could start work more or less immediately once he got the necessary permits.
Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard asked Wiegel if he thought the complex could be saved.
“I visited the site this morning, and the buildings are structurally sound,” Wiegel said. “The previous owners just haven’t done any repair or regular maintenance whatsoever and they’ve been allowed to go down. It can be renovated for the amount of money they’ve alluded to.”
Beard asked what would happen to the current tenants.
“The building that’s closest to Fuqua’s Grocery is totally vacant right now,” Green said. “We’ll do that one first, then we’ll move residents from the other one-bedroom units into that building. Then we’ll go on to the next one, and so on.”
Sandfield eminent domain
The council voted to order a survey of the east portion of Sandfield Cemetery as a first step toward eminent domain proceedings.
Last month Nicole Clinkscales came before the council and complained about maintenance and upkeep issues at the historic cemetery, located at the intersection of College Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. While the city owns the west portion of the cemetery, the east portion is privately owned and often goes uncut for long periods.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage told the council at last week’s work session that the last clear owner of the property was Prince Edwards, who died in the 1960s.
Turnage also said the law allows the city to go in and mow a cemetery if it is being neglected.
“About three years ago the legislature authorized cities to enter an abandoned cemetery in order to do maintenance,” Turnage said. “I just pulled the law up and found that four or five days ago. Previously I thought it was illegal to go onto private property and enhance it.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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