JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw said Thursday that he wants to know how the living conditions at Eureka Gardens got so bad and how the city and the Department of Housing and Urban Development plan to correct the situation.
In a rare move, HUD voided the passing score that Eureka Gardens received in its last inspection, admitting it was reached in error.
HUD Regional Director Alesia Scott-Ford said the department plans to inspect every unit in the complex by Friday and will also meet with Eureka Gardens tenants, who brought their deplorable living conditions to light after a HUD inspector gave the complex a passing score.
A 46-page report compiled by a HUD inspector failed to note most of the problems uncovered in a two-day inspection sweep conducted by the city. The HUD report, which issued a score of 85 for the complex in August, projected that if all 400 units had been inspected, only 44 health and safety violations would be found.
But the city's two-day raid uncovered code violations in 163 out of 400 units.
Crenshaw met Thursday with Scott-Ford and said he wants to make sure nothing like this happens again.
"There's plenty of blame to go around," the 4th District Republican said.
He said he holds HUD accountable for a series of admitted errors in oversight at the troubled Westside apartment complex. Crenshaw is also placing blame with the property owner, the Rev. Richard Hamlet of the nonprofit Global Ministries Foundation.
"You've got an owner who hasn't kept his property up to standards," Crenshaw said. "He has an outside manager, and I don't think the management has been appropriate."
Crenshaw said he thinks the federal government should consider stopping organizations like Global Ministries from owning a large number of federally subsidized apartment complexes. Hamlet owns 61 housing complexes in eight states, with a $500 million real estate portfolio that nets him $485,000 a year.
Calls by News4Jax to Hamlet were not returned Thursday.
Meanwhile, residents of the complex complain of mold, cockroaches and overall decay.
"We have reached out to a third party to test the mold in the units," Scott-Ford said. "It hasn't been identified at this point to be black mold."
Scott-Ford said serious health and safety violation have been discovered, but HUD's final report has not been completed. She said inspections of all 400 units at the complex will wrap up by Friday, and then HUD will turn to the Global Ministries Foundation to fix the issues without delay.
Scott-Ford said HUD thinks Hamlet's company should have been more aggressive with fixes since it bought the property three years ago. HUD also thinks Hamlet's company should have more maintenance crews at Eureka Gardens to fix health and safety issues.
Scott-Ford said HUD also plans to restructure the property management at the complex.
"After our team meets tomorrow, we will also establish a deadline of when repairs will be completed," Scott-Ford said.
Scott-Ford said HUD will explain to tenants what their rights are and will hear their concerns directly.
HUD has also set up a toll-free number for tenants to call and report any intimidation or other problems. That number is 1-800-982-5232, or tenants can email PBCA@nthdc.org.
Crenshaw suggested that HUD gain more control over its inspections and its contracts. He said the local HUD office needs to be more in tune with the conditions people are enduring.
"All I know is it's an appalling situation. We need to fix it and fix and now," Crenshaw said. "There are some real safety concerns. We can't wait 30 days. There are some things we need to deal with right away when they finish the inspections tomorrow."