A frustrated mayor of Park Forest has demanded that major improvements to dilapidated living conditions in the Autumn Ridge Apartments be made as quickly as possible by the court-appointed receiver.
“Not enough, and not fast enough” is how Mayor Joe Woods summed up his problem with ongoing rehabbing at three large apartment blocks along Somonauk Drive in the far south end of town.
His statement came on the heels of the failure of air conditioning systems in the buildings during this week’s oppressive 90-degree plus temperatures throughout the Chicago area.
In March, Will County Judge Victoria Breslan appointed Frontline Real Estate Partners of Chicago and Deerfield as receivers who would take over day-to-day operations of all 384 apartment units, authorizing the company to collect both rent and utility payments.
The ruling removed Red Oak Property Management from the scene and ended its struggle with Park Forest over numerous citations written by village personnel for code violations.
Woods said Frontline on Tuesday reported contractors were trying to restore air conditioning to affected units as quickly as possible, and noted the community center on the property was serving as an air conditioned property.
This, said Woods, was just the latest affront to tenants, which echoed a similar incidence last year when residents of Autumn Ridge “endured extreme conditions” related to the lack of air conditioning.
Frontline has offered affected Autumn Ridge residents hotel rooms in Matteson and as of Thursday, some 16 apartment dwellers had accepted the offer. Frontline also notified Park Forest Village Manager John Kindseth that one of the buildings has restored its air conditioning system, while work was ongoing at the other two buildings.
Nicole Scott-Johnson, an Autumn Ridge resident for six years, said Thursday that workers had restored chillers in her apartment building, but her unit remained hot due to airflow issues. She said other tenants she’s spoken with felt they couldn’t accept the offer to stay in a hotel due to their pets.
“And I don’t have the money to go and get a window unit,” Scott-Johnson said.
But beyond the sweltering conditions, Scott-Johnson said she hoped the new receivers would begin making foundational repairs. Walking into her building Thursday, water dripped from the ceiling and seeped into loose flooring.
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On the fourth floor, Scott-Johnson pointed out a unit that remained empty and open as flies buzzed around her head. In a neighboring building, a waft of mold odor escaped from another open and vacant unit.
There also were reports that a tarpaulin was placed over a leaking roof in an effort to prevent further water from dripping into apartments. It was a solution that Woods called “a Band-Aid approach.”
“A building don’t become like this overnight,” Scott-Johnson said. She said she wished the village would have applied pressure on the management company earlier to prevent further decay of the apartment complex that now houses about 100 residents.
Scott-Johnson, who works at a medical center in Park Ridge, said she is looking to purchase a home and leave the area.
But memories of her son, who died during the same year she moved into her unit, have been among the factors keeping her at Autumn Ridge up until this point.
“He was 19, and that was my baby,” she said. “My whole heart. I don’t want to leave him out here.”
Park Forest Village Board member Randall White expressed frustrations that Frontline hasn’t done more to fix urgent issues within the three months the company has managed the apartments.
He said the only improvement he’s seen within one building was a structure erected on Wednesday that prevents residents from trying to access its broken elevator.
“I think that they just built the box to say, ‘we’re working. We’re doing something,'” he said. “But I don’t see no guys out here working, doing anything.”
Woods underlined the problem faced by the village when people ask why the village isn’t doing more.
“The reality is that Park Forest cannot go and take over an apartment complex. While condemnation is often discussed on social media, the question is where the remaining residents would go.
“The village’s best course is demanding that the court-appointed receiver fix what needs to be fixed and do it quickly,” Woods said.