The Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza has been closed by the city and residents are being forced out after inspectors found the 17 buildings and more than 400 units to be unlivable.
Omaha city officials have deemed a northwest Omaha apartment complex unsafe and shut it down Monday after inspectors observed widespread fire, health and safety violations, leading to the evacuation of 165 families.
Now, just days before Christmas, city workers and nonprofit groups are seeking temporary housing for the residents at Legacy Crossing Apartments, 10535 Ellison Plaza, which is near 105th and Fort Streets.
“It’s terrible when you think about this happening right before Christmas ... but it’s deplorable to allow people to stay living under those conditions,” Mayor Jean Stothert said at a Monday afternoon press conference. “The best thing to do was to get those residents out and get them somewhere safe.”
The apartment complex contains 17 buildings and 408 apartments, about 165 of which were occupied. Stothert said all 17 buildings had code violations. She said she was made aware of the severity of the conditions Thursday. After a meeting with city officials, the city decided to shut down the apartments Monday.
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Housing complaints from tenants included units with no heat, collapsed ceilings, raw sewage in standing water, rodent and cockroach infestations and water damage causing black mold and electrical wiring damage, Stothert said.
Additional fire code violations included damaged furnaces, electrical hazards and a lack of smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors.
“These conditions are the failure of the owner to provide routine maintenance and repairs, and vandalism to vacant apartments,” Stothert said.
Planning Director David Fanslau said housing inspectors had made a first pass through all units by late Monday morning and made contact with 85 people. They planned to make additional rounds through the building Monday afternoon and enter apartments to make sure all are evacuated, he said.
Ben Coleman has been living at Legacy Crossing since May 2021. He said Monday afternoon that he has experienced issues in his unit for almost the entire time he has lived there and has had difficulty getting maintenance to make routine repairs.
“The apartment is missing a lot of essential things, like even a railing to the front door,” Coleman said as he loaded his belongings onto a trailer. “My sink and dishwasher stopped working, and it took probably about a month for me to keep going into the office before a person from maintenance finally agreed to take a look at it.”
Workers with Heartland Family Service were helping the residents find shelter Monday night and for the next few days, as temperatures are expected to plunge. Of the 85 people contacted so far, half could stay with family and friends and half will be in hotels, said Mindy Paces, who oversees Heartland Family Service’s housing, safety and financial stability programs.
Paces said workers then will help the families find units that are similar in cost, size and northwest Omaha location. Residents should call Heartland Family Service at 531-200-3500 and mention Legacy Crossing Apartments in order to get assistance if they are not at the apartments. Residents will be allowed to collect their belongings during daytime hours until the end of the month, Stothert said.
The property, which had one-, two- or three-bedroom units, is owned by Vukota Capital Management and managed by Avantic Residential, both based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It now will go into foreclosure. Rent was about $775 to $1,300 per month, depending on the unit, Paces said.
A sale of the property recently fell through when the buyer backed out because of the deteriorating conditions, Stothert said. The buildings were constructed in 1973 and Vukota Real Estate purchased the complex in May 2018.
An email sent by Avantic Residential to tenants on Friday said that “the buyer and seller have had some complications,” but did not mention that the buyer had backed out. The email said the company was “hopeful that a revised or new deal can be reached in the near term.”
A message left with Vukota Real Estate was not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
The owner had not registered the apartments with the city’s rental registration database, which started in 2020 after an ordinance was passed to improve living conditions in the city. The ordinance was prompted after city inspectors found numerous problems at Yale Park Apartments, at 34th Avenue and Lake Streets, that forced the relocation of more than 500 people.
Joanie Poore, the chief executive officer of the Omaha Housing Authority, said the Legacy Crossing evacuation deals with more units and the difficulty of moving during cold weather, compared to the Yale Park eviction, which occurred in September 2018.
“I think the scope of this is larger and is potentially more complicated,” Poore said.
Because Legacy Crossing did not register with the city and had open code violations, the complex was subject to annual inspections. The property passed inspection of a random sample of 61 apartments in October 2021. A city official said the owner had been renovating the property and adding new cabinets, paint and flooring, but that operation ceased in the spring and the owner was not actively or effectively managing the units.
The Omaha Fire Department investigated a hoarding complaint in March and found more code violations, which led to additional inspections.
Omaha Fire Chief Dan Olsen said after “exhausting attempts” to work with the property owners, the owners told fire inspectors that they would be ending efforts to bring the building up to code.
A fire broke out in one of the buildings Nov. 2. It was ruled accidental. A second fire, which officials said was started intentionally by vandals, occurred Thursday night after authorities had decided to close the apartments.
Stothert said she thinks the citywide landlord registry, which includes about 97,000 units, is working because inspections led officials to make the difficult decision that the building was unsafe.
She lauded city and nonprofit workers who came together in a short amount of time to provide services and relief to the residents.
Anyone who wants to help donate household items should continue to donate to their preferred nonprofit collection group, Stothert said, while people can give financial donations via the Omaha Community Foundation at omahafoundation.org. That money will be delivered to Heartland Family Service to disseminate to the residents for security deposits or other needs.
Some donors already have provided $250,000 to help tenants with relocation costs, Stothert said.
World-Herald staff writer Molly Ashford contributed to this report.
Photos: Legacy Crossing apartment complex residents forced to vacate after city closes 17 buildings
Moving vans were lined up Monday afternoon at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza. The complex has been closed by the City of Omaha and residents are being forced out after inspectors found the 17 buildings and more than 400 units to be unlivable.
Josie Mottl, 25, of Omaha, looks Monday though her fiancé's things that must be moved from the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza. The complex has been closed by the city and residents are being forced out after inspectors found the 17 buildings and more than 400 units to be unlivable.
Broken walls and mold can be seen in a vacant room through a window Monday afternoon at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza.
Nick Henry, 62, stands Monday on his apartment's front stoop at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza. The complex has been closed by the city after inspectors found it to be unlivable.
Jason Jensen of Yutan volunteered to help move furniture Monday as Josie Mottl of Omaha sorts through her fiancé's items at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza.
Ben Coleman, 25, lifts his desk into a trailer as he moves from the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza.
Christmas decorations remain up as the Legacy Crossing apartment complex Monday after it was shut down by the city.
Residents says they have trapped mice in their apartments at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex. Residents are being relocated due to widespread severe and dangerous fire, safety and health violations.
A handrail into one of the buildings at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex, shown Monday, is broken as residents walk up the icy stairs. The complex has been closed by the city.
Jason Jensen of Yutan was one of the volunteers helping people move out of the Legacy Crossing apartment complex on Monday. The city has closed the complex due to fire, safety and health violations.
Star Brown, 36, of Omaha, helps a friend move from the Legacy Crossing apartment complex on Monday.
Maurice Davis, the owner of Dynasty Movers, talks Monday with a resident about moving their things out of the Legacy Crossing apartment complex.
The Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza has been closed by the city and residents are being forced out after inspectors found widespread fire, safety and health violations.
Ciera Martin, 34, has lived at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza for 1½ years with her children. The complex has been closed by the city after inspectors found fire, safety and health violations.
A bathtub in an apartment at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza.
"Leave Now Cop" is spray-painted on windows at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex.
A welcome mat sits outside an apartment door at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza.
A broken stovetop that was never fixed or replaced at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex.
Residents say sinks constantly dripped and were often clogged at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex.
The Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza has been closed by the city after inspectors found fire, safety and health violations.
Large water stains photographed Monday in an apartment kitchen at the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza.
The Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza has been closed by the city after inspectors found fire, safety and health violations there.
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