JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As a flurry of activity begins to meet deadlines for repairs at Eureka Gardens, sources confirm to News4Jax that the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched an investigation of Global Ministries Foundation, the nonprofit group that owns Eureka Gardens and dozens of other subsidized housing complexes across America.
IMAGES: Monday repair under way on stairwells
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Global Ministries, based in Tennessee, receives millions of dollars annually in rent subsidies for the residents of Eureka Gardens, the Westside apartment complex and other properties in Jacksonville, other Florida cities and other states.
The Rev. Richard Hamlet, founder of Global Ministries Foundation, said after a meeting with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry last week that he will be making major changes in the on-site office of the complex, which has been under fire since its residents brought attention to their deplorable living conditions, including mold, crumbling stairways and gas leaks.
The on-site property manager at Eureka Gardens was replaced on Friday.
Eureka Gardens is currently being re-inspected by HUD after an inspection over the summer found only minor violations, yet a sweep by city code inspectors last month found health and safety violations in 163 of the 165 apartments they entered. Of those, three were tenant violations. The rest were the responsibility of the landlord.
The staff of Sen. Marco Rubio and other Florida congressional leaders met with HUD officials to discuss what were called "horrific conditions" at Eureka Gardens.
"We learned more about the agency's flawed inspection standards and how the complex managed to get a passing score it did not deserve back in July," read a statement released by Rubio's office. "Obvious issues like mold and bedbugs were not counted against the property, while violations like gas leaks and crumbling staircases were missed. HUD also reported to staff that there are no immediate plans to relocate any residents despite the alarming health and safety issues."
HUD officials defended its earlier assessment, but suspect property management may have hired a consultant prior to the inspection to point out potential inspection violations and cover them up.
"Rubio believes these health and safety concerns are of dire importance and must be handled quickly and responsibly. Failure to solve these issues within a reasonable time frame is unacceptable. It has already been a month since these major issues were identified with very little progress," the statement from the senator's office said.
The new HUD inspection won't be made public until 60 days after Global Ministries signs off on it.
With a deadline of Wednesday set by the city for a detailed plan of repairs, there was lot of activity at the property Monday, with walls being painted, vents checked, windows replaced and crumbling stairs being repaired.
According to residents, the work at the complex has been non stop since last week's meetings with city and HUD officials.
New4Jax obtained the results of an inspection completed last week by Structures International that found that only 9 percent of the stairways at the complex were serviceable, 24 percent need maintenance, 65 percent are repairable and 3 percent -- six staircases -- need replacement.
The complex has agreed to repair or replace the unsafe stairwells along with broken windows by Wednesday. It must have carbon monoxide detectors installed in every unit by next Monday.
Residents are skeptical that management will meet the deadlines.
"They are going to need more than 30 days," said Gail Thomas, vice president of the Eureka Gardens tenants association. "There is no way that they are going to be able to get the work done, and get 400 units done."