COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the city's largest apartment complexes will soon be empty.
For years, the city has taken the owners of Colonial Village Apartments to court to get improvements made at the massive complex. Those improvements have not happened, and now residents are being forced to leave.
Most recently, it was found that hundreds of residents were living in "substandard conditions" at the complex.
Latoya Bonner has called Colonial Village home for the past seven years. While she said her apartment is liveable, many are not, especially for children.
The city is now going door to door making sure no one is living there. Every occupant has to be out by Dec. 31 so the property can be sold and hopefully rehabilitated.
“Aside from just being dirty, there's been lots of stop-gap repairs have been made that are not up to code,” said Tony Celebreeze, deputy director for the Department of Building and Zoning services.
For years the city has worked to improve safety at the complex.
In 2021, City Attorney Zach Klein took the owners to court and the judge appointed a receiver to take over. That receiver failed and a second receiver was appointed to bring the complex up to code, which again did not happen.
“The ultimate goal is getting them into permanent housing. Right now many of the undocumented workers that were here that were trafficked up here, they are actually in hotels and they are slowly but surely being placed into permanent housing throughout the city,” Celebreeze said.
By Sunday, the city will board up and tag all 500 apartments throughout the 90 buildings, and people like Bonner will be forced to find a new place to live.
“People say 'where are you going?' I say 'I don't know.' I just trust in the good lord,” she said.
The city is working on helping residents find a new place to live and will financially help them for three months in hopes they can find permanent housing.