Apartments condemned after storm damage

SANDUSKY — When local apartment resident Tyler Johnson got a knock on his door from his landlord on Aug. 28, he could not believe what he was told. "To my shock and with little words spoken, they handed me a letter that stated the termination of my lease," said Johnson, a resident of Foxborough Commons in Sandusky. "Their explanation was equally shocking — our lower apartments in the building had been condemned, and I was required to vacate immediately." Following the recent severe storms, residents of the apartment complex were forced to relocate after his building, located at 2012 Fox Run Trail, was deemed uninhabitable. Johnson said he did not have any damage to his apartment. But, later that day, he received a letter terminating the remainder of his lease with immediate effect. He attempted to explain to the leasing office staff that he was unable to relocate so quickly without notice. "I could not move out that day," Johnson said. "That's when they handed me a clipboard that, I guess, was having me sign a waiver so I was able to stay until at least (Sept. 5)." 'An extremely unfortunate situation' Johnson was not the only resident given the sudden notice of lease termination as eight buildings were condemned with 65 total units closed. The properties are all owned by the Monarch Investment and Management group. "Due to the unprecedented rainfall during the storm (on Aug. 23-24), multiple apartments have been deemed uninhabitable by the (city of Sandusky)," Monarch regional manager Mindy Kohler said. "It is with a heavy heart that we must follow through with the terms of conditions that have been handed down to us from the health department and (Sandusky code) enforcement in an effort to put the health and safety of our residents first." Kohler also noted that they are attempting to relocate residents to available apartments and is working closely with the American Red Cross, Erie County Emergency Management Agency and The Salvation Army to assist residents. "This is an extremely unfortunate situation for all involved, and we will work through the restoration process, in conjunction with (Sandusky), to make impacted apartments available for the displaced residents as soon as possible," Kohler said, "We recognize this is a significant disruption for all impacted residents. Again, it is for the health and safety of our residents that these units have been taken offline." Johnson was told that he would be reimbursed for the remainder of his August rent and that he would receive his security deposit back. But he did not receive any other financial help. "The only thing they gave me was a paper that said 'Resources,'" Johnson said. "On that resource list, there were hotels with pricing and local food banks." Johnson said that he has plans to move in with family members for the time being but is unsure about future living arrangements. He also noted that he recently re-upped his lease, planning to live at Foxborough for at least another year. In addition to storm damage, an apartment building in the 2000 block of Foxborough Commons caught fire on Monday. The fire resulted in large amounts of damage to the building, but no injuries were reported. That building also had several units condemned due to past flooding, and residents from eight additional apartments were displaced from the fire and smoke damage, according to Sandusky's fire department. Other residents affected Foxborough Commons was not the only complex that had buildings condemned. Sandpiper Cove Apartments — located in Huron and also managed by Monarch Investment and Management — similarly instructed residents to vacate after apartments were condemned due to flooding. According to WTOL 11, dozens of residents were displaced and given 24 hours notice to relocate. Additionally, residents at Monticello Arms Apartments on Milan Road (U.S. 250) in Sandusky were also displaced, according to Erie County's Jobs and Family Services office. Many seeking assistance Employees from Erie County Job and Family Services emphasized how scores of people have been seeking the agency's help. The office "has been flooded with calls from locals who were temporarily displaced when the flood impacted their rental units," agency executive director Karen Balconi Ghezzi said. "Now they are facing permanent displacement as the owners of their facilities are closing the places permanently to the renters now." Many have been asking for financial assistance, but the agency cannot provide that in most cases. "We started getting calls and individuals walking into the agency asking if we had 'emergency housing funds' that could help them," agency caseworker Trudy Riddle said. "Unfortunately, we do not have those types of funds. We do have limited funds available for those with minor children to assist with rent or security deposit, however, that is part of the issue. We have no available affordable housing in the area at this time." According to a housing study overseen by Firelands Forward earlier this year, there is a massive lack of affordable housing in the Firelands region. The study, published this past spring, said that there was a .4 percent vacancy rate among rental units in Erie, Ottawa and Huron counties — meaning that 99.6% of apartments in the three-county area were occupied. According to the study, a healthy housing market has a vacancy rate of 4% to 6%. Additionally, the study suggested that 6,000 new single-family homes and 4,000 new rental units are needed to meet local demand.