Two years after News4JAX started investigating a pair of troubled affordable housing complexes they’re now under new ownership with a big plan to renovate.

A Jacksonville nonprofit and a developer have purchased a pair of troubled apartment complexes on the city’s eastside, paving the way for renovations and property improvements. Nonprofit LIFT JAX and real estate company Joined Development announced on Tuesday that they official purchased Eastside Terrace and Eastside Gardens for $6.2 million. The agreement was years in the making. They expect to begin renovations within 60 days.

In the News4JAX I-TEAM’s ongoing investigation into failing apartment complexes in Jacksonville, the spotlight has shifted to the Eastside Terrace and Eastside Gardens properties, where government subsidies help many pay their rent. The two sister properties, just a mile north of the sports complex, have been under scrutiny for years due to substandard conditions.

A Jacksonville nonprofit and a developer plan to buy and renovate two troubled apartment complexes on the Eastside the I-TEAM first exposed back in 2021 for unsanitary and unsafe conditions. It’s a deal that’s years in the making.

There's a renewed push to improve public housing in the Sunshine State.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) asking that the owner of two Jacksonville apartment complexes be removed from ownership and banned from owning any other federally-subsidized properties.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, has introduced a bill to reform the Housing and Urban Development Department’s inspection process and to hold landlords accountable.

Congressional sources on Tuesday confirmed to News4Jax that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has inspected the Eastside Terrace Apartments following an I-TEAM report that revealed residents have been dealing with rats, roaches and other unsanitary conditions.