ST. LOUIS — The mid-January evacuation of about 200 residents from a Midtown high-rise was sudden, but problems had been building for months.
Housing advocates and elderly residents who lived at Heritage House Apartments said heat and hot water were already sporadic at the 19-story building at 2800 Olive Street. They said management recently changed and that repairs were still needed since pipes burst and damaged several units around Christmas 2022.
“They kept telling us that they were waiting on the insurance to make an adjustment on the building,†said Laura Mullen, 64. “It was a long, long, time.â€
Mullen, speaking by telephone from her hospital bed, had struggled to get out of her room when the pipes burst again on Jan. 14, leading to the recent evacuation. All this, she said, is very different than when her mother first moved into Heritage House nearly three decades ago.
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“It was so nice,†she said. “The place was spotless. Organizations came in. There was dancing. A lot of things for the residents to do.â€
A couple years ago, she said, “it became a mess.â€
Anita Davis, 78, taking a short break from looking for a new apartment on Tuesday in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, also noted the decline.
“I’ve been there a long time, and it just got progressively worse,†she said.
In the days leading up to the evacuation, she didn’t have heat or hot water.
“That happened over the years, but they always corrected it,†she said
Heritage House Apartments originally was built in the 1960s to serve retired teachers. The $4.4 million project was financed by the Federal Housing Administration. The building included living spaces, lounges, meeting rooms and a restaurant, which closed in more recent years.
The nonprofit Heritage House Redevelopment Corp. and Evans & Son LLC are listed as owners of the building.
In an interview, Heritage House Redevelopment Corp. Board President JoWanda Bozeman acknowledged that insurance took “a while†to pay for repairs from the December 2022 pipe burst. She said Heritage House was also like many other aging buildings that require a lot of maintenance.
“We are doing all that we can, day and night,†Bozeman, a retired teacher who volunteers as board president, said of the displaced residents. “We are determined to do our best to make it right for them.â€
She said Sansone Group replaced Sentry in September as the property manager. Representatives of both firms couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
The office of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, said it became aware of struggles at Heritage House during a site visit last summer that revealed mold, holes in ceilings and poor management.
“Every ºüÀêÊÓƵ resident deserves access to safe and affordable housing, particularly our seniors,†Bush said in a statement. “We are seeing an affordable housing crisis across our country, and this issue continues to be a top priority of mine.â€
She said members of her office are working with agencies and local officials to ensure that former Heritage House residents have what they need during the transition to new housing.
Heritage House previously said it could take up to one year to fix the building.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is backing the mortgage guarantee for the property.
“HUD has and will continue to direct the owner and the lender to take the necessary actions to ensure the property meets all required physical condition standards,†Brian Handshy, a spokesman for the agency, said Wednesday by email.
Dozens of displaced residents have been staying at the Hilton by ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport. Facing an earlier deadline to check out, they now have until Tuesday. The ºüÀêÊÓƵ City Senior Fund, supported by taxpayers, is paying for the extension for residents age 60 and older.
“Otherwise, these people would have been homeless,†said Jamie Opsal, executive director of the fund.
Article from Dec 14, 1966 ºüÀêÊÓƵ (ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Missouri)