STARKVILLE — A single mother of three living in the Brookville Garden apartment complex on Everglade Avenue is one of a handful of residents who have complained several times to property management about their home’s conditions.
Nothing ever changed or improved.
Still, the woman, who spoke Friday to The Dispatch on the condition of anonymity, is not convinced her apartment building is in such bad shape it needs to be torn down.
City officials disagree, and now the woman, her three children and seven other families are scrambling to find new places to live.
“Had the issue been handled in the beginning before it even got this bad, it wouldn’t have come to this,” the woman said.
Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to demolish buildings 4, 5 and 8 of the apartment complex, deeming it a “menace” to the public health, safety and welfare.
Code Enforcement Officer Sarah Perez and Building Official Stein McMullen told aldermen they thoroughly examined these buildings six different times this year and found conditions unsuitable for public health and safety such as water damage, broken windows, weak floors, roof damage, mold and mildew.
During the meeting, Perez and McMullen presented interior photos of the apartments in question, including a molded, bowing ceiling in a first-floor unit. They said the ceiling had the potential to fall through from the weight of the dilapidated unit above it, endangering residents of both.
Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who represents Ward 6 where the apartment complex is located, said the three buildings resemble “slums.”
“The buildings are completely dilapidated to the extent that demolition should occur,” he said.
No specific date is set for tearing down the buildings, but the single mother still hasn’t found another place to live.
“I’m working on looking somewhere else to move,” she said.
Where do the residents go?
As bad as the apartment buildings may be, tearing them down displaces families with limited relocation options, Brookville Garden Property Manager Mary Williams told The Dispatch. She said she informed the tenants the buildings were being considered for demolition a few weeks before Tuesday’s aldermen meeting.
The majority of the families in the affected units have two to four children, and Williams said she would gladly place them in other Brookville Garden units, but there aren’t any available.
“We don’t have any place to really put them, so we have families that may be out on the streets because even with the (Starkville) housing authority, they don’t have the placement,” Williams said.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker said he wants the city to help find new homes for these displaced residents. While the board has taken no action to assist these individuals, he said he hopes to see the mayor and board find alternatives or other spaces for them to go.
“We know that affordable housing is a real challenge and places in Starkville are no different from that,” Walker said. “I do believe that part of the role of the city and code enforcement is that when we do encounter structures or units that are this level of shape that it is our responsibility to act, and we hope that other entities that are involved can help find a new home for the displaced residents.”
Mayor Lynn Spruill said she and the board will work with Brookville Garden and other local property owners to see if there are options available for those displaced.
“We don’t want to put them in a bad situation, but the issues related to the danger from these buildings implicates a greater danger to the surrounding community and those remaining in that housing complex,” Spruill said. “It is a situation that can no longer be ignored.”
More demolition to come?
Oktibbeha County tax records list Brookville Schoolhouse Road Estates as the owner of the complex. The Mississippi Secretary of State’s website indicates New York Real Estate Investor Chaim Puretz was the registered agent and only officer of this business, but it says the limited liability company is dissolved.
The Dispatch attempted to contact the company, but no one responded.
Brookville Schoolhouse Road Estates was sued in 2017 for breach of contract with Federal National Mortgage Association.
In 2014, Brookville Schoolhouse Road Estates borrowed $1,995,000 for Brookville Garden Apartments. In the loan documents, the business agreed to keep the complex in good repair and marketable condition, which it failed to do. Federal National Mortgage Association sent a demand letter to Brookville Schoolhouse Road Estates demanding conditions such as monetary deposits and repairs to the complex, but the company once again failed.
The case was settled in 2020.
Buildings 4, 5 and 8 were already run down when Williams assumed the role of property manager in December 2020. She said she tried to step in, but the owner was the only one who could contract needed repairs. She has tried to contact the owners multiple times regarding the situation, but no action has been taken.
While only three buildings have so far been condemned for demolition, Perkins said if the rest of the buildings resemble those inadequate conditions, he believes the entire complex should be shut down. Code enforcement officers said Tuesday they would inspect other units on the property, potentially recommending more demolition and the displacement of more tenants.
“If they are in a condition that these three are, then I’m sure the board is going to look at all the totality, circumstances and all of the evidence and then they are going to look at the precedent,” Perkins said. “If the Vice Mayor sees another building similar to 4, 5 and 8, then I’m going to vote to demolish because conditions are deplorable and inhumane.”
Williams said she does not believe all of the buildings should be torn down because many of the uninhabitable units are vacant. Some residents have lived at Brookville Garden for many years, she said, and she does not believe they should be displaced based on a few dilapidated apartments.
“I can say personally at this time, the majority of our units are not in that condition that was stated at the meeting,” Williams said. “We have a lot of units that are in very good condition, and I feel like that (code enforcement) kind of pointed out some things that they could use against us.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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