Where families gathered and children played, sunlight steals over empty rooms and silent common areas.
As of Aug. 7, all 155 to 165 residents of the two troubled Auburn Pines Apartment complexes at 505 and 515 North Division Street had left. Last out was the manager.
“All the residents have complied with the City’s order to vacate,” said Michael Hursh, community services manager for the City of Auburn. “Next, we will fence the property to secure it so there’s no vandalism or any kind of trouble.”
City inspectors visited the buildings in June, and the City declared them unfit for human habitation until the owners fixed problems like water in light fixtures and electrical sockets, brittle walls and ceilings, mold boiling out of baseboard heaters and rats.
On July 6, the City notified tenants that they would have to find other places to live. Unless the complex’s owner, HMS Land, LLC of Everett and Seattle, brought the building up to code, all tenants would have to move out by Aug. 7.
As of today, the City is waiting for the owner to challenge the conditions spelled out for re-occupancy or implement them.
In the last month, the City has focused its efforts on finding residents new places to live.
Years ago, the City formed a landlord group and it began an outreach effort to identify all apartment complexes in Auburn and build relationships with their management. That effort paid off in a database of 30 to 40 managers who were willing to help in situations like that at Auburn Pines. The mayor sent out an e-mail to them explaining what was happening and asking for a response.
Among those that responded and agreed to take tenants was Auburn Square Apartments at 3740 H St. NE.
“Honestly, we just wanted to help the community,” said Auburn Square Manager Kristy Herr. “When you get an e-mail like the one addressed from the City, you can’t help but feel for people. We had openings and decided to help everybody after seeing how many people needed to be relocated. We got two separate families of three, one of them with a baby on the way.”
Hursh was responsible for tenant safety and administering funds connected to relocation issues.
“We understood that financial issues would be a barrier to folks moving,” Hursh said. “The City not only identified apartments with living conditions 10 times better but also cheaper than the $750 they were paying at the Pines.
“… In addition to that, the City helped residents with deposit costs and screening costs associated with moving in,” Hursh added. “The City didn’t pay anybody’s rent, but we made sure there were no undue burdens on the monthly budgets of these folks. We made sure that they would make the same payments in the new units.
“Residents are welcome to stay where they have landed because they initiated the relationships that we shared with them,” Hursh said.
State law requires that in situation like this, the landlord pay each tenant $2,000 to help with relocation costs.
