Crime drops at notorious building
Capital Tower gets makeover under new management
Most of the cramped bachelor suites in Capital Tower Apartments still look much like they did when the building went up in Edmonton’s inner-city nearly 40 years ago.
The smell of stale smoke and dirt, built up over decades, coats the drab grey carpet and greets you as soon as the door opens to one eighthfloor apartment. In the corner, a three-in-one sink, fridge and hot plate appliance unit sits next to a small Formica counter holding a few mugs and a toaster. Above, old wooden cabinets still hold cans of beans and a jar of raspberry jam. Two dirty pillows lean against the smoke-stained wall, next to a window draped with a pair of old blankets. Insect traps line the room’s perimeter.
The unit has seen better days, but is slated to be renovated in the coming months, a project started by Helm Property Management when it took over the building in March 2013. Once refurbished, the suites will feature clean, beige tiling, a stand-alone refrigerator and stove, along with new counters and cabinets. The washrooms, too, will get a bit of a sprucing up.
The renovations are part of a larger strategy to clean up the notorious 12-storey building at 10028 106th Ave., which was the scene of Edmonton’s first murder of 2013. Together with the help of Edmonton police and the city’s McCauley Revitalization Project, the management company has removed some of the more undesirable tenants from the building while giving it a bit of a makeover. Police say the strategy is working and has helped push calls for service at the building down from a high of about 100 in March to just two throughout July.
“Working together with them, we were able to identify criminally active individuals that were causing the majority of the issues within the building and it allowed us to work with them, to provide alternate living arrangements for them as a result of being charged or incarcerated,” acting Staff Sgt. Ray Akbar said at a news conference Monday highlighting improvements at the infamous building, nicknamed “Crack Tower” by some residents.
In January, the building was the scene of Edmonton’s first homicide of the year, when police found 50-year-old Karl Wayne Rittwage’s body inside an eighth-floor suite. Raymond George Anderson, 41, is charged with second-degree murder in the case.
The apartment building has been the scene of one other homicide in the past decade, but the area has kept police busy with other crime-related calls.
But with nearly 40 per cent of the building’s units currently vacant, at least part of the drop in crime touted by police could be the result of lower occupancy rates. Of the roughly 174 units in the building, about 70 are vacant. Most are 275-square-foot bachelor suites that, once renovated, rent for $700, including utilities, said property manager Barry Davis. So far, about 20 units have been renovated, at a cost of about $3.25 million, with about 50 to 60 left to do. Davis says he hopes to have all the work completed by the end of November.
Akbar said calls for service at the building were steadily increasing before Rittwage’s murder, which thrust the building into the spotlight. Police, with the help of about a dozen student volunteers from Centre High, went door to door in the building, speaking to residents face to face and taking note of their biggest crime and safety concerns.
“We were able to get a good baseline understanding of what the problems were, first- hand from the residents as well as the building managers and the owners,” Akbar said.
When new management took over in March, up to four criminal gangs had a foothold in the building and were to blame for most of the issues, Davis said. “Doors were getting kicked in, tenants were being beat up, they couldn’t walk down to the garbage room to put the garbage where it belongs without being mugged or harassed or beaten up, Davis said.
He spent time working with local beat officers and together with the help of police, evicted more than 40 people with criminal records.
The building also began a new visitor sign-in policy and implemented a curfew between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Emergency exits were fixed, lights in the hallways were replaced, and new staff were hired. Now there are always two security guards on duty and every staff member carries a two-way radio for safety, Davis said.
Akbar says the collaborative work has instilled a sense of ownership among the building’s current residents.
“The good thing with trying to maintain the safety and equity is that we’ve created an environment where the tenants have an active participation in their own safety, along with the building management,” Akbar said.
Argi Fetokakis’s husband has owned Omonia Foods Import on the first floor of Capital Tower for more than 39 years. She said she remains hopeful, but skeptical about the changes.
“Now at least it’s secure — that’s a plus for the building,” she said. “You don’t know how much we want to see it improve and not be called Crack Tower anymore.”