The city of Orlando plans to acquire 104 more apartment units on Orlando’s west side.
The city of Orlando plans to acquire 104 more apartment units on Orlando’s west side for $700,000.
A plan to buy the apartments was filed in a South Florida bankruptcy case recently. The apartments are near a redevelopment project spearheaded by Lift Orlando.
“It is the City’s present goal to partner with qualified developers, who are interested in construction of long-term, mixed-income or affordable-housing communities that complement the surrounding neighborhoods,” according to city documents.
The city council is set to vote on the expenditure Monday.
The owner of the property, North Miami Beach-based First One Hundred LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2016. It was the second bankruptcy for owners of the property in recent years. All but six of the units at Tampa Avenue and Orange Center Boulevard are vacant and boarded up.
The apartments are just south of the former Washington Shores complex, which is undergoing redevelopment by the not-for-profit group Lift Orlando.
“It is pretty terrible, and we need things to be stabilized in the area,” Eddy Moratin, executive director of Lift Orlando, said last year. “People are concerned about the safety and conditions there.”
The city previously hired attorney Roy Kobert, of GrayRobinson, to seek the bankruptcy court’s permission to enter the property and remove hazards.
The city alleged that the owner has “systemically expended zero effort and zero dollars on deferred maintenance, upkeep or even to perform the most basic functions to secure the apartments to prevent further waste or mitigate existing dangerous conditions,” the city’s motion in court states.
According to the bankruptcy court filings, the city was owed at least $300,000 by First One Hundred, and additional money may have been collected in fines.
First One Hundred is owned by a North Miami Beach company, DYC Group, that lists South Florida businessman Gideon Gratsiani as a manager, according to state records.
The First One Hundred apartments are known as Lakeview, Colonial Manor, Savoy and Bunche Manor. Leases at six units at the Savoy will be honored and carried over, according to the documents.
The city previously cited First One Hundred with a long list of violations, including crumbling stairwells, exposed wiring, broken windows, plumbing and roof leaks, mold, and vacant units left unsecured. In May 2016, Zach Shelosmith, the attorney representing First One Hundred, said his client was negotiating with the city over the alleged violations and fines.
Mike Rhodes, manager with the city’s code enforcement division, stated in a court filing last year that the city “has been forced to expend additional police and fire resources to respond to calls concerning the apartments in addition to actions undertaken by the Code Enforcement Division.”
Moratin said last year his group would seek tax credits to build 120 units for senior housing after completing 200 residences across the street from First One Hundred.