Last residents forced to vacate troubled Galloway Village Apartments in Prairie Township

Franklin County Sheriff's deputies forced five families and 15 squatters to vacate this week from the troubled Galloway Village Apartments in western Franklin County, the last residents of this once-thriving complex where many were living in squalid conditions.

Working with Franklin County Public Health and other agencies, Prairie Township trustees last month voted to give the remaining residents 30 days to remove their belongings and vacate the 350-unit complex. On Monday, a team of sheriff's deputies made sure no one was left before securing the perimeter with 8-foot-tall, chain-link fence.

"The sheriff went through every single unit and did a clean sweep," said Dana Scott, township zoning director, who said that fines and penalties continue to pile on to those already assessed against the  New York City-based owner, Chetrit Group LLC.

"They've got to bring it into compliance. They have to decide what to do with the property," Scott said.

Prairie Township Administrator James Jewell said the action was prompted by remaining residents "who just didn't think we would do this. It was to motivate them.

"They were getting a different story from the property manager — that everything was going to be fine, they were going to be cleaning the place up and that they could stay," he said.

'Nowhere else to go'

While the vacated families assured authorities they had backup housing with relatives or friends, others who were living in the complex rent-free were provided emergency housing or vouchers, Franklin County Sheriff Chief Deputy Jim Gilbert said.

"It was unbelievable, the plight in some of these buildings," Gilbert said. "It was something from one of those hoarder shows."

Deputies arrested five of the squatters on active warrants for robbery, theft and probation violations.

One man admitted to being a drug addict, living for months without utilities in a long-abandoned unit with his girlfriend. The two of them wheeled out shopping carts filled with blankets, clothes and food, telling Gilbert they had "nowhere else to go."

The couple, like others not paying rent, told deputies the complex's office manager gave them permission to stay there.

Management has different story

Gilbert said he came close to arresting the property manager, whom he said seemed oblivious to what was happening. Townships officials say that mail sent to the management office had been repeatedly returned, including warning letters and notices from public health officials.

"I told her, 'You're being played. You're in the middle of this. All you have to do is look at your surroundings and see the place is surrounded by fencing,'" Gilbert said.

The manager previously told The Dispatch that township officials were unfairly pressuring Chetrit Group owners to give up the property for new commercial development.

"It's ironic that she'd say that," Jewell said. "For her to think that people would still want to live here and feel safe and secure just amazes me," he said, noting some dwellings had "more mold on the wall than there was wall."

Hope for new owner or revitalization

Until ownership changes and the complex rebounds, Gilbert said his deputies will remain vigilant.

"We know that in the next few weeks and months, people are going to be trying to steal copper pipes and electrical boxes, things that they can scrap and sell," Gilbert said. "We're going to take a zero-tolerance approach."

Jewell said he is now working with a New York-based receiver to help recover the more than $500,000 in fines and penalties that officials have assessed, including $32,000 for the mile of fencing paid out of the township's general fund.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Galloway Village Apartments: Families, squatters among last to vacate