CINCINNATI — It’s been almost a month since a Hamilton County judge appointed a receiver to take control of an embattled Hartwell apartment complex. Residents say they have seen some signs of hope, but relief is not coming fast enough.
WCPO has visited the Williamsburg of Cincinnati complex several times over the last year. In November 2022, residents said water had been shut off for several days. The following month, several residents had to leave their units after flooding from a water main break. In January, the City of Cincinnati filed a lawsuit against the complex following repeated violations.
WCPO reached out to two attorneys for the complex on Wednesday. One did not respond by early Wednesday evening and another tsaid he was unable to comment.
A receiver took control of the property in late June. According to the courts, his role will include collecting rents, overseeing repairs and getting the complex back to "livable conditions."
A co-founder of the Williamsburg of Cincinnati Resident's Association said there have been some glimmers of hope during the last few weeks, but progress has been moving slower than residents had hoped.
“The receiver has met with a couple of the founding members of the association, which has given us the beginning of having an open-door policy," said Rhonda Berry-Dear.
Berry-Dear said repairs to the property have not moved fast enough.
“I understand wholeheartedly from my conversations with the receiver that they have a process as well,” she said. “But the residents have been going through this for more than 15 years. We were expecting a gangbuster effect. Was that a non-realistic expectation for us? No, because the conditions are so bad.”
Current residents say work orders remain unfulfilled. Ike Don and his family said they have not had air-conditioning since the start of last summer.
“We made countless work orders for it to be fixed,” said Ike’s son Jeremiah.
Both Jeremiah and Ike said trash is a concern too, as well as safety. Ike’s car was broken into at the complex.
“People have been breaking into cars, vandalizing up there,” said Ike. “I mean, there's trash everywhere.”
“It's very hard to find a place in Williamsburg that doesn't just smell bad,” Jeremiah said.
On Tuesday, the city confirmed the complex had 393 active violations on 105 addresses. WCPO contacted an attorney for the receiver but had not received a response by early Wednesday evening.
“It's definitely not easy to just pick up and leave,” Ike said. “We’re not in some housing project. We shouldn't have to live like that.”
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