Residents of a Troy apartment complex are still in limbo as to when they can move back into their homes after being evacuated last week.
On June 22, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden called a last-minute press conference and revealed the immediate evacuation of the Harbour Point Gardens apartments at 138-188 Delaware Avenue.
Three inspections by the city’s code enforcement department were conducted in May and June after numerous complaints were filed by residents concerned about falling bricks.
The city hired LaBella Associates, an engineering company in Latham that has been a WAMC underwriter, to assess the eight two-story brick apartments following a complaint regarding a falling brick façade. The report details holes in exterior walls, improperly anchored veneers, and unmaintained windows – causing water to leak into apartments.
Residents were not notified of the evacuation by property management, but rather by posters the city plastered on doors of affected apartment buildings.
The apartments were purchased in May 2022 by 182 Delaware LLC, which is owned by Lexington Property Group out of New Jersey, for $11.3 million according to Rensselaer County public records.
Regional General Manager of the property Rob Howard says he was aware the bricks needed to be removed and had a plan in place.
“The fall of 2023 to have the brick façades removed and replaced with vinyl, all weather siding,” Howard said.
He says the city has since padlocked the impacted apartments while the others remain inhabited.
“I couldn't get back in ,get back in them, along with the tenants,” Howard said. “So, I told them to pack like they're going away for two weeks. Because at that point, I didn't know what my timeline was.”
Deputy Mayor Chris Nolin, who called for the inspections, says he is disappointed with the pace of remediation work.
“Since last Friday, only one of the walls has come down that the engineering firm identified,” Nolin said.
Since the evacuation June 22, city officials have met with legal representatives of 182 Delaware LLC and its engineers to discuss a plan of action. Engineers working for the city and Lexington Property Group have agreed on key findings, but Nolin says deliverables have yet to be presented to the city.
“We are still waiting on the remediation plan,” Nolin said. “We're still waiting on the timeline. And I'm still waiting on the contact information for all of those displaced residents, so that we can communicate directly with them, and really provide them with updates as this moves along.”
There was some confusion between residents and engineers on whether the buildings were structurally safe.
“The structures are not at risk of falling down,” Nolin said Friday. “The issue at hand is that these brick facades have had, in some cases, movement of up to three inches away from the building, The risk to the tenants that our engineer identified and that their engineer agreed to yesterday is that these bricks facades could come down, and there is risk that the bricks could either fall into the building could fall through a window.”
Howard, the Regional General Manager, says the city caused unnecessary worry.
“Nobody has been injured there,” Howard said. “There's no potential, no bricks have fallen. They separated from the wood structure just being of age, they are built in the 60s. So over time, with weather and conditions and heat and cool and winters the brick separated from the woods structure.”
Howard says the inspection completed by the city in May did not pertain to the brick facades.
“The previous owner was basically, he was a poor operator and poor management there that never corrected situations that should have been corrected. So that was the list they're talking about that had to be done. There was never talked about a façade or any brick structures of the buildings.
Nolin says while one brick wall has been removed, he is unsure why the other six have yet to come down.
“The property owners can take that down today; they do not need a permit to remove a brick wall. So, they can do that as expeditiously, as fast as they can get a contractor there, which they were able to get a contractor there to remove the one wall.”
Howard says it took more time than anticipated to find a company to do the work.
“I have to do it correctly, I have to follow certain guidelines of Troy and I also have to follow certain guidelines of my construction company,” Howard said.
Tenant Alaska Grinder says residents have not received clear communication from property management.
“It’s been a lot of ‘Oh, we’re hoping to get you back on this day’ and then the date keeps moving,” Grinder said.
Howard says room rentals at the Travelodge in Colonie have been extended through the July 4 holiday for displaced residents and he plans to have people back in their apartments late next week.
“My goal was to have all the bricks removed by the by after the holiday on Wednesday morning,” Howard said. “I plan on calling the city of Troy on Wednesday morning and now requesting the speedy inspection that they're telling me they can do. At that point, when they come, there It's in their hands; It's in their control. Hopefully we've done everything that date to satisfaction that they've asked for and I can have an inspection passed and the apartments reopened for living.”
Nolin says he wants other landlords in Troy to know city hall is watching.
"We don't want to see something like this happen again,” Nolin said. “Where we're evacuating residents with no notice. It's simply unacceptable.”
