COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council passed a measure Monday night to give a one-time payment of $265,000 to former Latitude Five25 residents who were removed from their homes last year.
Latitude Five25, located on Sawyer Boulevard, was evacuated on Christmas Day when some pipes burst due to the freezing temperatures, causing electrical damage.
The city condemned the complex after the buildings were found to be without potable water, heat and a working fire suppression system. Additionally, only one of four elevators were working.
Ever since the residents were displaced, the city has been working to move them into permanent housing.
According to the city council, $230,000 of the payment will come from the Neighborhood Economy Development Fund and the remaining $35,000 will come from the General Fund- Neighborhood Initiative Subfund.
A total of 159 leaseholders will each receive a portion of the $265,000 fund to help pay for housing, furniture and other valuable items they were not allowed to take with them.
Ann Barrett, who is one of the former Latitude Five25 residents, said it took her about a month to find a new place to live, but she and other residents were forced to leave almost everything they owned behind.
Barrett said some of her friends who lived there are still struggling to find housing and others even lost their jobs.
Melissa Humbert-Washington, vice president of programs and services for the nonprofit, Home for Families, said she's seen the struggle firsthand. Her organization in part works to find housing for people experiencing homelessness.
“We've come into quite a few situations where we did get a client housed and then when the year lease was up the landlord was asking them to move out because they want to raise the rent," Humbert-Washington said.
On top of the lack of affordable options, she said the available homes, in many cases, present other issues.
"We typically have clients who are validly complaining about things like pests, or mold or other kinds of damages that are not being taken care of," Humbert-Washington said.
On Feb. 16, the city announced Paxe Latitude, the owners of the complex, was fined more than $4 million for violating provisions of a court order from January. The fines stem from ongoing litigation involving unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the complex.
The owners filed for relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in New Jersey four days later on Feb. 20.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated that each former resident of Latitude Five25 would receive a one-time payment of $265,000. It has been corrected to say each former resident will receive a part of the $265,000 fund approved by the city Monday night.