Aug 28, 2024 - News

St. Paul mayor blasts downtown landlord over "disgusting" apartment conditions

Kyle Stokes

A woman in a pink shirt stands with a man in a white collared shirt in front of a microphone on a street with a large brown-bricked apartment building behind them — With Mayor Melvin Carter looking on, resident Ciela Arguelles speaks in front of her building, Lowry Apartments, where she said she's seen feces, mold, and needles. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios

Mayor Melvin Carter took aim at downtown St. Paul's largest landlord this week, accusing Madison Equities of allowing a 134-unit apartment building to fall dangerously into disrepair.

Why it matters: Conditions at the Lowry Apartments have not only created a humanitarian crisis, but also highlighted the financial struggles of the prominent property owner in a precarious downtown real estate market.

The firm is trying to sell off its entire downtown portfolio, which includes landmark office buildings such as the First National Bank Building.

Driving the news: With the Lowry Apartments already in foreclosure proceedings, St. Paul officials on Tuesday filed an emergency motion asking the court to immediately move the building into receivership, which would force necessary repairs.

City officials have already taken the extraordinary step of revoking the building's fire certificate of occupancy, saying parts of it are uninhabitable.

Threat level: Half of the residents receive government help paying rent, Carter told reporters on Monday. Many tenants worry they'd face homelessness if the building were forced to close, the Pioneer Press has reported.

The condition of the building, where at least 100 people live, is "one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen in my entire life," Carter told reporters Monday evening after a tour.
Carter said he saw rodents, feces, and trash, and noted that the 11-story building didn't have a working elevator.

The other side: "Lowry is yet another casualty of increased crime and empty buildings in downtown St. Paul," Madison Equities attorney Kelly Hadac wrote in a statement to Axios.

Madison Equities doesn't oppose a court's intervention, but Hadac said, "The receiver will most likely struggle mightily to maintain the building."

Two maintenance technicians and security guards are on site.

Context: Downtown crime reports have decreased from a 2022 peak but Lowry residents have expressed fears about crime in the building's hallways.

Hadac said vandals "ransacked" it last weekend.

Flashback: It's a far cry from the 1928 building's history as a posh hotel visited by the likes of Charles Lindbergh, Bing Crosby, and Benny Goodman in its early years.

Parting shot: Living at the building has been "hell," resident Daryll Sims told Axios. He is suing his landlords for a year's worth of rent.

"I shouldn't have to live with rats and roaches … I'm not a nasty person."

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St. Paul mayor blasts downtown landlord over "disgusting" apartment conditions

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