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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe dilapidated Lakeside Pointe at Nora and Fox Club apartment complexes in Indianapolis could see more than $7 million in repairs soon, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Thursday.
New York-based Genesis Housing Foundation Inc., which city officials said Tuesday had bought Lakeside Pointe, 9000 N. College Ave., through a subsidiary, has committed to setting aside $7.25 million for fixes, along with making several other promises, according to Rokita.
His office said Genesis had also purchased Fox Club at 4401 S. Keystone Ave. The two complexes, which together have more than 800 units, were both built in the early 1970s.
An Indianapolis-area representative for Genesis, Red Law Group’s Michael Red, didn’t immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.
Genesis has inherited hundreds of housing code violations from the Marion County Public Health Department—plus in-progress demolition orders for buildings in the apartment complexes destroyed by fires—from New Jersey-based former owner Fahr-Fox Affordable Housing Inc.
Residents have reported fires, raw sewage leaks and weeks-long periods without hot water, air conditioning and heating, among other complaints.
Outrage concerning the complexes has been growing for years.
Rokita himself filed a lawsuit against Fahr-Fox and property management company Aloft in July for “uninhabitable” conditions at both complexes, but the Marion County Superior Court in September denied his motion to appoint a receiver.
Indianapolis officials have stepped up their own efforts. In January, Mayor Joe Hogsett threatened to file a lawsuit regarding Lakeside Pointe under Indiana’s nuisance statute, although the notice officials sent noted it wouldn’t apply if the complex changed owners.
Now, it has.
Genesis subsidiaries have already bought other local properties formerly under the same ownership group, including the Estates at Crystal Bay Apartments, 7136 Crystal Bay Drive E., and Woodhaven Park Apartments, 6363 Commons Drive. Both complexes are on the city’s northwest side.
Business records also show Genesis’ ties to New York-based Read Property Group, through a shared address in Brooklyn and a shared executive, Michael Wolf. Read is largely active in the New York City metropolitan area, but has made forays farther out in New York State and Florida.
In Indianapolis, Genesis has its work cut out for it. Rokita’s office said that in the new owner’s agreement, Genesis committed to:
- Setting aside $7.25 million dollars for repairs, split across both complexes;
- Resolving existing emergency health department cases within 30 days;
- Creating a timeline for repairs, with deliverables for days 0-30, 30-60, 60-90, and 90-180;
- Rebuilding major facilities and renovating fire-damaged units.
“Working together with Elon Property Management, Genesis Housing is already beginning to invest the resources that are necessary to restore the safety, decency, and habitability of the property,” said Red in a written statement about Lakeside Pointe, after the acquisition news broke. Red is the registered agent for Genesis and its subsidiaries.
“Residents and neighbors of Lakeside will be seeing rapid improvements as Genesis Housing and Elon Property Management begin to clean up and rehabilitate the property,” the statement promised.
City officials have said they’ll be keeping a close eye on Lakeside Pointe and its new owners, while Rokita’s office said it would “help monitor” the new owner’s agreement.
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I hope they invest every dime of that $7.25 million. That money is sure to go quick but is sounds like a major improvement to this property.
Predictable that Todd Rokita would take advantage of the change in ownership for a little free publicity. But what did he do to make it happen? Nothing. Nada. Zip.
Was this efforts lead by the residents or someone from the city?
Finally a ray of hope for a long neglected property in Nora! Appreciate the efforts of the Nora community (many area churches partnered together urging action to take place; and by providing material support to the immigrant residents). Glad to see the AG and Mayor pro-actively working for a solution to help a decade or more long neglect of that property.
Am I the only one who is suspicious about why a “nonprofit corporation” that was formed seven months ago according to the IN Secretary of State’s website, and whose primary address (4706 18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11204) appears that it could be as small as an upstairs apartment above a storefront, would have such a great interest in acquiring 1,000+ units of housing in Indianapolis for charitable purposes. Is “nonprofit” not synonymous with charity? If you started a nonprofit in Brooklyn, because you’re interested in providing/managing apartment housing, wouldn’t you probably focus on that area, rather than purchasing apartment complexes 1,000 miles away? What am I missing here?
I don’t think you are missing anything. These are valid questions in light of other out of state nonprofits that own (and don’t maintain very well) run down apartment complexes in Indy.