INDIANAPOLIS — A group of Hoosiers living at a troubled apartment complex is looking for answers after a request for help was denied.
Lakeside Pointe is home to arson investigations, hundreds of thousands of dollars owed in property taxes, and controversial unpaid water bills.
All those issues led Indiana's attorney general to get involved.
In July, Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against the owners and property managers of both Lakeside Pointe and Fox Club Apartments asking for a third-party receiver to step in.
Aloft Mgt, LLC, which manages Lakeside Pointe Apartments, and Fox Lake AHF, Inc., which owns both Lakeside Pointe and Fox Club Apartments, were named in the suit.
Two days after the lawsuit was filed, the mortgage lender also filed a foreclosure action on the Lakeside Pointe and Fox Club properties. The two cases were consolidated.
However, last week, a Marion County judge denied the attorney general’s request to appoint a receiver and called for mediation within 120 days among all parties.
Attorney General Rokita released the following statement:
“Under the limited authority for intervention in this matter provided by state statute, our investigation and lawsuit pushed the lender to take notice of the condition of the apartments and the lack of repairs by the defendants. We will continue to investigate and assist in this case as needed, fighting for change for the hundreds of Indiana families affected by the defendants’ neglect over the years. We welcome mediation, but we suggest that all parties stay vigilant of the real conditions on the ground at the complexes."
Advocates for the residents say it’s a setback but they will continue to look for other solutions.
“We are sad. We are disappointed,” said Debi Alexander, a volunteer with the Nora Neighborhood Ambassadors. “How could it be so clear that these tenants have been so mistreated by this owner and yet justice is not happening?”
Alexander said residents face problems like mold, water damage, heat and air conditioning issues and fires. So far there have been seven fires in the past year, including at Lakeside Pointe’s Club House.
“I don’t care who owns that place. I care they fix the maintenance issues that the rent-paying tenants have been reporting for months on end,” Alexander said.
13News also reached out to the property managers for comment, but have yet to hear back.