Columbia fines Colony Apartments owner nearly $100k for code violations after hundreds evacuated

Owners of Columbia’s Colony Apartments, which were evacuated two days after Christmas for potential life-threatening maintenance violations, could be facing nearly $200,000 in fines and paying back repair costs incurred by the city.

The Monroe Group, a Denver-based property management company, operates Columbia’s Colony Apartments at 3545 West Beltline Blvd. in addition to more than 80 properties nationwide. After residents at the Colony Apartments said they went without heat or running water for days in late December, city officials intervened, evacuating the property. Evacuated residents were sent to hotels where some stayed for weeks. As of last week, the city had cleared 95% of the units at Colony Apartments for re-entry.

Now, more than a month after the initial crisis, the city has or will fine the company responsible nearly $100,000 for various violations.

The city spent several days in late December inspecting the units at Colony Apartments and found that in addition to no units having running water or working heat, 144 of 300 units had additional problems. In at least 10 units, serious violations including gas leaks and the presence of carbon monoxide were reported. Another 83 fire code violations were reported.

The Monroe Group incurred more than $46,000 worth of code enforcement penalties and nearly $50,000 in fire code violations, according to city documents inspected by The State.

In addition, the city plans to bill Monroe Group some $26,617 for repairs to broken water lines at the property, nearly $50,000 in city personnel costs, and nearly $3,000 in meal costs for city employees and the tenants evacuated from the Colony Apartments.

The city sent out more than 100 summons Jan. 24 to Ebony Nelson, the Monroe Group’s district manager, to collect on the fines for the various code violations. Nelson is expected to appear in Columbia Municipal Court on April 19.

Nelson could not be reached by phone Monday. Monroe Group President Justin Boyd did not respond to a voicemail left on his cellphone by The State.

A back and forth

Days before the apartment was evacuated, Monroe Group leadership was informed of problems at the Colony Apartments, according to emails between Columbia and Monroe Group officials included in the city’s documents on the incident.

Management for the apartments had been informed about water leaks at the Colony Apartments Dec. 24, according to an email from Boyd to Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and City Manager Teresa Wilson. Boyd wrote that a vendor “made repairs the same day” and that “we believed the issue had been resolved.”

Two days later, on Dec. 26, the company “started receiving more tenant issues” regarding water pressure and heating problems. Boyd wrote that “vendors” were immediately called to investigate, but no one was available until the next day, Dec. 27.

Boyd asserted that someone did arrive Dec. 27 to conduct repairs but was unable to begin until a leak detection company could first identify all potential breaks in the apartment’s water system.

“During this time, a shooting occurred,” Boyd’s email goes on. “Thereafter, we understand code enforcement and the fire marshall arrived to evacuate the property.”

Indeed, Columbia Water employees had been trying to reach someone from the Monroe Group the morning of Dec. 27, making three calls and sending an email to the company’s website, but they were unable to connect with anyone until after 1:30 p.m., according to an email from Frank Eskridge, director of utility operations for Columbia Water, detailing the contact efforts made by the city.

Just after 1:30 p.m. Dec. 27, Anthony McLain with the Monroe Group returned Eskridge’s call to ask if the leaking pipes were the responsibility of the city or of Monroe Group.

“I indicated that they belonged to the Monroe Group and were Monroe Group’s to repair,” Eskridge notes in his email.

Eskridge wrote that he attempted to follow up with McLain later that day but did not get a response.

At the same time city officials were trying to reach the Monroe Group about their broken pipes, a shooting occurred at the Colony Apartments on the 27th.

Law enforcement responded to the shooting and later helped evacuate the 300-unit apartment complex.

The next day, Dec. 28, once residents had been evacuated, Eskridge informed the Monroe Group that the city was going to move forward with fixing the apartment’s broken water pipes and that the Monroe Group would be charged for the work.

Boyd seemed unaware of Eskridge’s contact attempts, writing in his email to Rickenmann and Wilson, “We understand the city utility arrived unannounced to complete the repairs” on Dec. 28, Boyd wrote.

Columbia leaders have expressed frustration with the Monroe Group’s response to the problems at Colony Apartments. Rickenmann has made multiple public statements decrying the group’s behavior and noting leadership for the company had been difficult to reach.

“This event is the latest in a series of issues which our community has faced with your property,” Wilson wrote to Boyd Dec. 28, in a long email detailing the city’s response to the property’s myriad safety concerns.

“As you can gather from the reports of our public safety and water officials, the situation which unfolded here in Columbia was untenable and preventable,” she wrote. “While I am sure you join my relief that the most dangerous part of this situation is over, make no mistake; there is still a lot of work to be done.”

The email goes on to say the city would be sending the company invoices for the costs the city incurred in responding to the crisis at the Colony Apartments.

Responding to inspection findings

The majority of rental units at the Colony Apartments are tied to Section 8 housing vouchers, a program overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

HUD was already aware of “serious deficiencies” at the apartment complex weeks before city officials evacuated it.

On Dec. 12, HUD officials inspected the apartments and found roach infestations, mold and mildew growth, and blocked or damaged emergency exits among a list of other safety problems at the apartments, according to a letter sent to Hud Marshmer, a principal at the Monroe Group.

The Colony Apartments scored a 52c* out of 100 on that Dec. 12 inspection. The “c” indicates there were serious, potentially life-threatening fire-safety issues at the apartments, and the asterisk indicates problems with smoke alarms.

The Monroe Group is now in jeopardy of losing federal assistance for the Colony Apartments if the company doesn’t correct the issues identified in HUD’s inspection. The company was notified Jan. 10.

A HUD representative was not immediately available Monday.

The Monroe Group owns one other property in South Carolina according to its website, the Belle Meade Apartments in Greenville.