HOUSING
fail the tenant surveys.
Cohen issued a statement after attending the Senate subcommittee hearing.
“It is clear that Congress must step in to prevent this from happening again in Memphis or anywhere else,’’ Cohen said. “I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Bob Corker, who sits on the subcommittee, after the hearing. We have been very disturbed by the deplorable living conditions many in Memphis and around the country have experienced at GMF properties. This is not a partisan issue. No one should be allowed to live in these conditions.”
The nonprofit Global Ministries Foundation through its corporate real estate arm, GMF-Preservation of Affordability Corp., has over 40 apartment complexes in Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina and New York.
In Memphis, some apartment units had holes in the walls made by rats, exposed electrical wiring, broken windows, no working light, a moldy bathroom and leaky roof. In Jacksonville, some residents at GMF’s Eureka Garden lived in apartments that had mold, gas leaks, water damage, and crumbling staircases.
GMF-Preservation of Affordability Corp. responded to the hearing. “We applaud elected officials at all levels for aggressively joining GMF in our multi-decade commitment to ending homelessness and helping lowincome families through affordable housing,” spokeswoman Audrey Young said in a statement.
Global Ministries Foundation is attempting to sell all its apartment complexes that are 100 percent federally subsidized through the Section 8 program, about half its portfolio. Those apartments on the market include five complexes in Memphis.
In addition to the Warren and Tulane properties, the Memphis apartments for sale are Serenity, Madison Towers and Goodwill Village.
The Commercial Appeal reported early last year about poor living conditions at three GMF properties.
GMF has said that a “large majority’’ of its apartments are in good condition, but that some of the older, Section 8 complexes could use new investment dollars.