Syracuse, N.Y. – A Chicago firm will take over management and begin making repairs at the notorious Skyline Apartments and two other troubled Syracuse complexes, a judge confirmed today.
If all goes as planned, Chicago-based Clear Investment Group will manage those three properties and complete its purchase of them by June, bringing an end to the scandal-plagued ownership by former NFL player Tim Green and his son Troy.
The Chicago group will take control March 31.
But the path to recovery for a fourth Syracuse apartment complex owned by the Greens remains unsettled.
Crime, lack of heat, broken windows and other problems plague the Vincent Apartments, a 267-unit complex off Jamesville Avenue, according to court-appointed receiver Lawrence Sall, who testified at a hearing today in state Supreme Court.
Sall estimated he needs $1.5 million over the next three months to make the Vincent safe and comfortable for tenants. For now, he has $16,000 to work with.
State Supreme Court Justice Danielle Fogel ordered Sall and attorneys for the Greens to provide more information by Wednesday about the rental income and repair estimates at the Vincent so that she can determine how much more the Greens should contribute to fixing the place.
As of today, Sall had identified $16,000 in an account tied to the apartment complex. Fogel asked Sall to use that money to get started on improvements.
Clear Investment Group, which had previously declined to purchase the Vincent, signed a contract Thursday to buy that property too, city lawyers told the judge today.
That may lead to the Chicago firm taking over management of the Vincent in the near future. Company principals told the judge they plan to inspect the property Tuesday.
Despite the uncertainty at the Vincent, the agreements approved in court today should eventually improve life for hundreds of tenants at the four properties, city officials said.
It was “a good day for the tenants,’’ Corporation Counsel Susan Katzoff said after the hearing.
Today’s hearing stemmed from litigation filed by the city last month against several companies controlled by the Greens that own the four apartment complexes. The city claimed the Greens had collected rent for years while allowing conditions at the properties to deteriorate. The lawsuit asked the court to appoint a receiver for the four properties and order the Greens to provide $1 million to make repairs.
Since then Clear Investment Group has emerged as a buyer. The company had previously agreed to buy the 352-unit Skyline Apartments and two nearby properties on James Street – The James, with 62 units, and Chestnut Crossing, with 133 units. Thursday night, the group also signed a deal to buy the Vincent, which has 267 apartments.
The judge today said she will approve an agreement finalized Thursday under which the Chicago group committed to a make repairs and stabilize the Skyline and the two other James Street properties.
Details of those plans were not discussed in court. Nor was the purchase price.
Sall, a Binghamton real estate broker, will serve as court-appointed receiver at the Vincent, at least for now. He outlined his plans for the complex, which include fixing boilers and broken windows and hiring two armed guards around the clock to restore security.
He estimated the total cost at $1.5 million. He told the judge he could make good progress with at least $400,000 to $500,000. But it’s unclear where the money will come from.
Only 77 of the 267 apartments are occupied by tenants who pay rent, Sall said. The complex currently operates at a loss, he said.
Two of the eight boilers serving the complex are broken, leaving tenants in two buildings without heat, said Jake Dishaw, the city’s code enforcement director. City officials have hired contractors to try to fix the boilers using existing parts, paying them through an “emergency repair program’' under which the expense will be added to the property’s tax bill.
But if the boilers can’t be fixed with parts on site, it could take six weeks to order new parts, Dishaw said.
Many tenants are using space heaters in the meantime, Sall said.
After getting more information from Sall and the property owners, Fogel said she will decide next week on a funding plan for repairs at the Vincent.
JoAnn Smith, who has lived at Skyline Apartments for five years, got a ride to court today hoping to hear more about plans for rescuing the property. She was disappointed not to her more details.
Smith said she bathed at her kitchen sink today because there was no hot water in her bathroom. Mice run all over the building, she said. Security is inadequate. Non-tenants come and go.
Smith said she is holding her $887-a-month rent in escrow until the Skyline’s boilers are fixed to provide reliable hot water.
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