COLUMBUS, Ohio — Since December, residents of Latitude Five25 haven’t been able to go inside their units. The buildings were condemned by the city, and asbestos was found throughout.
Fast forward to March, city leaders are now allowing residents to start picking up two to three items that are of personal significance or medical items.
10TV spoke with Angelique Clark. She and her family were displaced from the apartment building and have since found a home on their own.
She said she has been trying to close that chapter of her life which is Latitude Five25.
"I've literally told myself to like forget about it all,” she said. “Cause the longer you hold onto hope it makes it hard to move on.”
She said it gives her an uneasy feeling and there are still a lot of questions she has that hasn’t been answered.
The biggest one is when will she and others be able to retrieve their items.
"My husband was in the military for 15 years, his awards are there, his service weapons are there, and my sister-in-law’s ashes are there. I have important papers in there, I haven't even been able to file my taxes,” said Clark.
10TV spoke with Tony Celebrezze, the Deputy Director of Building and Zoning for the city.
"An asbestos remediator they began going into these units cleaning, wiping down these items,” said Celebrezze.
The staging area is in the gymnasium. He said residents should wait until they’re contacted by a city official. He said right now, they’re only able to take out a few items that aren’t clothing or have fabric material.
In the following week, Celebrezze said crews will be doing a deeper cleanse to remove more items from the units.
"It's going to feel slow to some people because they may not get communication or calls from us right off the bat,” he said.
"I’m going to temporarily open this book, but this is a chapter that I’ve moved on from,” said Clark.
If you have not yet been contacted by the city, you’re asked to call this number 614-645-7125.
Saturday, April 1, is the next day residents are able to pick up items if they've been contacted by the city with no appointment needed. That's from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.