JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville city leaders gathered at Colonial Forest Apartments Tuesday morning to address the next steps in the legal battle with the owner of the complex at the center of a lawsuit for maintaining a public nuisance.
The News4JAX I-TEAM has been reporting on the deteriorating conditions at the property located on Firestone Road with trash piling up, balconies and stairwells falling apart, and residents complaining about pests and squatters.
Last month, the city condemned 10 apartments due to unsafe structures.
During the news conference on Tuesday, city leaders mentioned they want to recover some of the money they spent to keep the apartments livable and the money spent to avoid relocation of residents who are in condemned units.
“Charging rent for unsafe structures will not be tolerated in the city of Jacksonville, especially not in District 14,” City Councilmember Rahman Johnson said.
Crews from the city were out at the property Monday, cleaning things up and repairing staircases recently condemned because of rotting wood and other stability issues. The repairs started just days after a judge granted the City of Jacksonville an emergency temporary injunction requiring the Colonial Forest owner to correct issues at the property.
In the past, the city has paid to remove trash piling up in the parking lot. They’ve also been paying for a 24/7 “Firewatch” for the last two weeks, keeping members of JFRD on-site 24/7 in case of an issue while rotting and unsafe staircases are repaired.
Johnson gave an update on the city’s recent injunction requiring the owner of Colonial Forest to clean up the swimming pool and bring dumpsters back to the property.
“I’m hoping he’s able to do what can be done to try to fix and get the owners to do better for the people that live here,” District 14 resident Angie Withers said. “It’s horrible.”
Johnson said the city will seek to recover the dollars spent on the Firewatch and the money spent to make structures, like collapsing balconies and stairwells, safe again for residents.
“The city is not going to pay for services of a complex when landlords are getting rent from tenants,” Johnson said.
The city is making progress repairing the condemned staircases on the property, but residents say the problems go beyond that.
The News4JAX I-TEAM noticed some residents are living without a front door to their apartment building.
“I pay too much month of rent here to be living like this,” a resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Residents said they’re grateful the city has stepped in to help, but there are other issues inside their apartments that have them packing their things.
Citations from code enforcement date back to May of this year while residents have been complaining about a lack of trash pickup since Nov. 2022.
“It’s just a shame that it has come to this,” the anonymous resident said.
Chief of Code Compliance Thomas Register said it’s important residents report any potential violations by calling 904-630-CITY because they can’t address issues without a record of complaints.
“Just reach out to us. We’ll open up a dialogue with you. And if you want to file that complaint, we’ll take care of your issue for you,” Register said.
During Tuesday’s news conference, Councilman Johnson also highlighted the city’s Revolving Loan Fund Program. That program makes up to $1 million in repayable loans available to landlords to preserve affordable housing developments with interest rates as low as 0-1%.