RICHMOND, Va. — A troubled Richmond apartment complex has resolved its most critical building code violations that posed immediate risks to residents, according to the city. However, officials said there's still far more work to be done before the property reaches full compliance.
In a memo Richmond's Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald sent the City Council on Wednesday, he said the owners of Legacy at Imperial Village have completed "all lifesaving corrective actions" that were required following recent city code inspections. Those actions included repairs that were "essential to stabilizing the facility and protecting residents."
Donald said those fixes eliminated the need to relocate tenants, which he said was a potential risk.
The activity followed a CBS 6 investigation that aired in June, which highlighted residents' concerns over pest infestations, unreliable air conditioning, and broken elevators at the complex. Many of those problems were documented in more than 180 city code cases that were opened since 2021, and some were repeat violations.
Watch: Richmond seniors struggle with bedbugs, broken elevators at apartment complex
“This place has definitely not been well maintained, and it’s not the maintenance’s fault, it’s not the front desk. It’s the owners," tenant John Reid told CBS 6 in a previous interview.
The ownership entity is listed in city records as Imperial Propco LLC based in Howell, New Jersey. Property management has not answered multiple questions from CBS 6 requesting the identity of the owners.
The story caught the attention of Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, and in late June, the city performed sweeping inspections of the entire property.
Those inspections resulted in 11 notices of violations, each containing multiple citations, issued to Imperial Village. Inspectors documented what they cited as deteriorating, unsafe, and dirty conditions.
Watch: What the city found when they inspected troubled Richmond apartment complex
Many of the violations were identified as "life safety hazards," which required correction by July 30.
Since then, resident caregiver Joanna Jerrell told CBS 6 she's seen a constant city staff presence at the property, monitoring improvements and assessing the needs of tenants.
"You've just gotten the ball rolling. I'm just astounded," Jerrell said. "I have seen a lot of action here. It's just like, everybody is just on board, scurrying around, trying to fix things."
While Donald's memo noted life safety hazards had been fixed, he said there's still much more work that needs to be done.
"Imperial Village has a long path ahead to achieve what would be considered full compliance with the code. While the progress made over the last 30 days has been significant— and essential—substantial work must continue for a significant period, that might be expected to take up to the next two quarters," Donald said.
He also mentioned that a court hearing on the city's notices of violations that was scheduled for July 29 was delayed to September 9 to give Imperial Village more time to make corrections.
The memo did not go into detail about the court case, but CBS 6 obtained court records from the clerk's office that showed the city issued two summonses on June 17 in connection to a generator that needed to be repaired or replaced.
On July 30, CBS 6 requested a list of all resolved and pending code violations for the property. The city has not provided that information.
Moving forward, Donald's memo said the city will pull back its daily onsite presence, now that the most critical violations have been addressed.
The city will "closely monitor progress, conduct regular follow-up inspections and provide guidance to ensure that resident safety remains protected" in the next step of its oversight plan, according to the memo.
CBS 6 requested comment from Imperial Village for this story, but we have not heard back.
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