ARLINGTON -- After viewing hundreds of photos documenting unsanitary and hazardous conditions at an east Arlington apartment complex, a municipal judge declared the complex dangerous Friday and ordered the owner to make repairs within 90 days.
Photos of the 185-unit La Joya Apartments showed mold, roaches, leaking raw sewage and exposed wiring.Municipal Judge Stewart Milner said the complex reminded him of an old ship that has been patched with "ingenuity and bubble gum.""Yes, it's an old property. There are a lot of old properties that are kept up quite nicely, properties older than this one," Milner said after the nearly eight-hour hearing. "There is a lot of neglect."As of Feb. 1, 1,020 code violations had not been addressed at the complex, in the 1700 block of New York Avenue, city officials told the judge.It will cost owner Theodore Hansen of Utah an estimated $1.9 million to bring it up to code, according to court documents.The city took Hansen to court because he was not making timely repairs, a city attorney said."They've had more than enough time to fix this," Assistant City Attorney Steven Meyer said."If they had routinely maintained their property, we wouldn't be here to begin with."Inspectors were first called to the complex Oct. 31 to check a reported water leak. They found that a pipe had been leaking there for months, flooding vacant downstairs units.The Fire Department ordered the flooded units evacuated and four tenants relocated.That led to a unit-by-unit inspection of the complex's nine buildings.Inspectors did not write citations for all violations but did issue at least 136.Hansen, who attended Friday's hearing, said he was unaware of the severity of the problems, such as water damage, until the city contacted him Oct. 31.He testified that he was "discouraged we haven't done a far better job" addressing the code violations but said work has been done since November. Nearly all issues identified by the fire marshal have been corrected, he said."This is sort of like a tidal wave of well over 1,000 issues to deal with all at once. To deal with them in 90 days ... is very difficult, but we want to," Hansen said. "This is a tough hole to climb out of."Hansen said he has spent $100,000 to $200,000 in the last 60 days and has budgeted $3,000 to $5,000 a week for electrical issues.The repairs at the complex include spraying for insects, installing peepholes in all entry doors, correcting apartment numbers and installing 450 smoke detectors, he testified.The apartments were built in the 1950s and 1960s and are showing their age, Hansen said."It is difficult to fix all of that even if financial resources were not an obstacle. The amount of people and time it would take would be a lot," Hansen said.More than 385 of the original violations have been addressed, city officials said, but an additional 243 violations were found this month. Hansen said many of those were in unoccupied units.Sue Phillips, longtime president of the community group East Arlington Renewal, was among residents who testified about improvements they want to see at the complex."East Arlington Renewal works very hard to elevate east Arlington. We think everybody that lives in east Arlington or does business in east Arlington should have that same dedication," Phillips said. "I think that the property owners of La Joya Apartments are doing everything in their power to add blight and deterioration to our community."They have not only failed to maintain their properties. They have set their tenants at great risk for potential fire."Resident Sam Moore said La Joya was once a desirable place to live but has become so dilapidated and so damaged by water and fire that it should be bulldozed."I would love to see this place go to the ground. I don't think it's repairable," Moore said. "How could you put enough money into it to make it worth it?"Hansen also owns Bella Apartments in Fort Worth -- declared a substandard property by the Building Standards Commission.When he appeared before the Fort Worth commission Jan. 28, he was arrested for unpaid fines related to code violations. He is free on bail in the Fort Worth case.Hansen has 60 days to correct violations at the Arlington complex, but lien holders have an additional 30 days to bring the property up to code.This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.Susan Schrock, 817-709-7578Twitter: @susanschrockHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
