Parkway Gardens: Metropolis inspectors discover over 50 violations for rodents, elevator points, damaged home windows

More than 50 building code violations were levied on owners of the affordable Parkway Gardens residential complex in Woodlawn after city inspectors spent two days investigating the property.

Ald. Jeanette Taylor, 20, asked the city’s Department of Buildings to see the sprawling complex after hearing a laundry list of complaints from residents.

The inspectors spent two days there in March conducting a “detailed and comprehensive” inspection of a complex consisting of 694 apartments in nearly three dozen buildings on 13 hectares. The inspectors found violations ranging from missing window bars and broken window panes to rodent problems and faulty elevators, said Department of Buildings spokeswoman Mimi Simons.

The violations will be processed in the Cook County Circuit Court, she said.

Related Midwest, a real estate and development company that has owned the property since 2011, put it up for sale in late April. Related did not immediately return a message looking for a comment.

An important marketing feature for potential buyers is a contract with the federal housing authorities that guarantees the subsidized rent for the coming years. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development would have to sign the transfer of a subsidized housing contract to a new owner.

Taylor said she referred complaints from local residents to Related, but the company failed to make the necessary corrections. “Nothing was done,” she said.

Parkway Gardens extend from 63rd through 65th streets between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Calumet Avenue. Part of King Drive along Parkway Gardens known as the “O Block” – a reference to a gang member who was killed nearby – was once the most dangerous block in town.

It’s unclear how much interest Related Midwest is seeing from potential buyers.

Rapper Lil Durk, who grew up in Parkway Gardens, showed an interest in buying it in a tweet he posted on April 30th.

“I’ll buy it no matter how much it is,” tweeted the 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Durk D. Banks.

Bank officials have not returned a message asking for comment.

Rapper Chief Keef also grew up in Parkway Gardens, as did rapper King Von, who was killed on a shoot outside an Atlanta club in November.