Several seniors living in a Russell apartment building don't feel safe.
They've seen venomous brown recluse spiders in the building, there's been a fire in a shared laundry room and they don't have enough security, residents of the Mt. Lebanon complex said Thursday while announcing their decision to unionize with the Louisville Tenants Union . Other amenities have been taken away, the tenants claim, like a backdoor accessibility ramp. One wheelchair user fell on the back steps — where the ramp used to be — and landed face down.
"I happened to see her cane stuck in that door," said Darryl Shields, vice president of the Mt. Lebanon Louisville Tenants Union chapter. "That's the only way we knew she was out here."
Conditions at the building continue to deteriorate despite subsidies meant to improve them, tenants say. And they now want to hold the property owners accountable.
The apartments weren't always like this, said Shirley Gwyn and Geneva Warren, who have lived in the building for four and 32 years, respectively.
Gwyn and Warren claim the problems began after California-based developer Allied Argenta bought the property several years ago.
The company had proposed renovations and redevelopment — including giving free WiFi to all residents, updating the laundry room and installing new floors and apartment fixtures — with a goal of creating "the same high quality as you would find in high-end housing," according to a presentation given to Metro Council around December 2021.
The plans led council members to approve up to almost $800,000 worth of tax-increment financing , or a TIF, for Allied Argenta. The company also secured $400,000 in loans from the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $5.6 million in tax-exempt bonds from the Kentucky Housing Corporation.
Councilman Jecorey Arthur, who sponsored the TIF bill, called it a "win-win" at the time. The aim was to increase the amount of high-quality affordable housing in Louisville's West End — a goal emphasized by local government for years.
"That's why a few years later, I'm very shocked and surprised after not only a local incentive from Metro Council but also funding from the Kentucky Housing Corporation at the state level, funding from the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, that the conditions in this building are worse than they were in 2020," Arthur said Thursday, standing with the tenants.
Allied Argenta did not respond to numerous requests for comment from The Courier Journal.
The company has not yet received any money from the TIF, said Caitlin Bowling, a spokesperson for Louisville's Cabinet for Economic Development.
It has followed through with some commitments, like repairing the building's roof and replacing floors. But the renovations have been mixed in quality, and some have already begun deteriorating, residents said.
"The floors are coming up. The ceilings are falling down," Warren said.
Residents have felt their woes have not been taken seriously, despite city inspections confirming some of their concerns — like the presence of brown recluse spiders in the building. That led them to unionize, with over 80% of the residents becoming card-carrying members.
The move is part of a growing national movement for renter's rights amidst an affordable housing shortage , with the Louisville Tenants Union advocating on behalf of renters, locally.
Mt. Lebanon tenants are now calling on Allied Argenta to meet and negotiate leases with them. They are requesting a 24/7 maintenance line, 5-year lease terms, around-the-clock security, removal of the brown recluses and a repaired laundry room, among other proposals.
"We believe that the only way tenants can really get solutions is to organize their building into a union (and) speak with one voice to the landlord," said Louisville Tenants Union organizer Josh Poe. "They really bought into that."
Arthur intends to call on the company to meet with the newly formed tenants union and address the issues. He has written a letter that he is asking other Metro Council members to co-sign.
He believes there should be more regulations on TIFs for when people do not fulfill expectations.
"And I’ll tell you this, we mean business and we are serious about seeing this campaign all the way to the end," said Gwyn.
Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: A developer got subsidies to fix Russell apartments. Residents say they're worse than before
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