Rodents, Mildew, Shoddy Upkeep Plague Reasonably priced House Constructing

The units at Serrano Apartments, a high-rise residential complex on Columbia Pike, have three things to offer: They are spacious, have beautiful views, and are affordable.

“But when you go into these units, the reality is completely different,” said Janeth Valenzuela, who has been campaigning for better living conditions for Serrano tenants for two years.

Mouse and rat infestation. Balconies with broken glass and rust. Dirty HVAC equipment with water damage underneath. Bad maintenance.

These are just some of the problems within the 280-unit home at 5535 Columbia Pike, according to not just Valenzuela but the Arlington NAACP, immigrant and tenant rights group BU-GATA, interfaith clergy group VOICE Arlington, and the Asian American Pacific Islander Civic Commitment (ACE) collaboration.

“It’s disgusting,” said NAACP President Julius “JD” Spain. “This is a breach of duty and someone must be held accountable.”

Two weeks ago, Spain and NAACP Housing Committee Chairman Kellen MacBeth walked through a handful of housing units and snapped photos of the conditions. They wrote a letter to District Manager Mark Schwartz setting out the terms and asking Schwartz to hire staff to work with tenants, refurbish the units, and rewrite the guidelines so that all residents have a safe, decent, and affordable home to have.

“We observed serious problems suggesting a culture of delayed maintenance and underinvestment in the property during our tour,” the letter said.

However, the passage was a turning point after two years of working behind the scenes to help out the tenants.

“We are tired because there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” said Valenzuela. “It’s pure injustice.”

Under new management

The Serrano Apartments are owned by AHC Inc., an Arlington-based affordable property developer who acquired the property in partnership with Arlington County in 2014. Since then, the nonprofit has spent millions of dollars on improvements. According to AHC, the building has 196 affordable units and 84 off-the-shelf units.

AHC is aware of the issues raised by the community organizations and has been working hard on them “for some time,” said spokeswoman Celia Slater. One of the most recent changes was the hiring of a new management company that “is very good at customer service and has a great track record”.

According to the county spokeswoman Erika Moore, the county requested this change based on the conditions on the property.

Elder Julio Basurto, who has worked with Valenzuela for the past two years, said the leadership change was the result of advocacy.

“It’s not something that AHC did on its own,” he said, adding, “there are many things that are still not right.”

The management company, which was formed in February, told AHC that it would take about six months for the building’s problems to be cleared up, she said. Slater already had 586 work orders, 39 of which were related to pests such as bugs and rodents.

“We have made great strides since the beginning, but we know there are still problems to be solved,” said Slater.

This month, 100% of the vents and convectors will be cleaned again by the end of May, she said.

“Many tenants appreciate the new management, but they believe that just because there is new management does not mean that the basic problems are solved,” said Maryam Mustafa, Community Organizer at ACE.

Saul Reyes, managing director of BU-GATA, said the Serrano is an old building with many problems that the delayed maintenance will make it worse.

“We worked with residents, resolved their individual issues with management, and made sure work orders were carried out to the satisfaction of tenants,” he said. “Part of the problem is that the problems are so extensive and take so long to resolve that residents are frustrated.”

As the new management company works to get things under control, AHC is working to build trust with residents, according to Slater. The organization set up an on-site resident services office with a bilingual manager, distributed more than 100 meals a week, and hosted a pop-up vaccination clinic.

“We care about the people in the community and want to do everything we can to ensure that their living environment meets our standards,” said Slater.

But a big problem is communication, she said, claiming that residents aren’t telling AHC what’s going on.

communication

Proponents say a lack of communication from local residents isn’t the whole story.

They said immigrants would tolerate bad conditions longer, but when people have raised concerns they sometimes face inaction or disrespect so they are unlikely to speak up again.

“Many families simply accept that their homes are full of rodents and cockroaches and are shy and embarrassed to even bring them to the office, largely because they believe that is what it is and that the office is not taking action . ” Said Mustafa.

Mustafa said the East African and Pakistani renters she spoke to also reported broken elevators that smelled of urine, as well as a lack of management support.

“When a family returned to Pakistan from a trip home, they found their entire home filled with crushed and empty beer cans and their belongings stolen,” she said. “There was nothing left. When they complained in the office, they did nothing about it. They also haven’t held anyone accountable for a broken window in their car. “

More oversights

AHC was caught in a similar situation five years ago when residents discussed conditions at The Shelton in Arlington’s historic Black Green Valley neighborhood. Now the NAACP is calling for more oversight of the county in the form of new guidelines and additional staff to set the conditions in the Serrano Apartments.

Arlington has half a dozen employees who conduct on-site inspections and complaints, and train residents on tenants’ rights and responsibilities, said Moore, the county spokeswoman. Three are native Spanish speakers.

These inspections include monitoring the income of people living in affordable housing units as well as walking through public areas and sampling units in most properties each year, she said, while noting that the inspections were virtual during the pandemic.

“All properties are reviewed several times a year through audited financial and budget reviews, as well as inspections and tenant compliance reviews,” said Moore. “If problems are found, the staff discuss the problems and recommendations with the property management and the owners. If employees raise concerns about the general condition of the property, they can share information about the funds available to complete future renovations. “

Several people plan to speak about the Serrano apartments during the housing commission meeting tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m., Spain said. The meeting, which will be conducted virtually, is to include the discussion of a “subordination agreement” with respect to the Serrano apartments.

Photo (5) via Google Maps