Deadline for Ralston Towers owners to fix ‘serious deficiencies’ is now here

Owners of the Ralston Towers will once again face inspection to determine if they’ve improved living conditions for residents or will have to face consequences from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

On August 1, HUD notified the New Jersey-based owner PF Holdings Inc. in a letter that if they did not work to provide “decent, safe, and sanitary housing” for the low-income residents that live at the Ralston, 211 12th Street, in 60 days, they would be at risk of losing the contract that helps some 200 residents pay their rent.

The owners were given until October 1 to bring the building up to HUD standards, but residents of the Section-8 housing complex say they’ve seen little work being done at the building that failed the inspection with a score of 42, 18 points below passing.

“The only thing this place has done the past 60 days is collect the rent,” said resident Chris Lowe, who said he’s lived at the Ralston for 17 years. “There haven’t been any improvements.”

Mayor Skip Henderson said Monday he did not know for a fact work had been done, but was told contractors have been working at the Ralston.

“It was such an exhaustive list of things that they have to repair I think it would be a stretch to think they have accomplished it all by the deadline,” Henderson said. “As it stands right now, all we know is what HUD had originally told us and that is if they have not completed the work, they could terminate the contract. My understanding is it will take a little while to get that done.”

A leaking central water supply, sharp edges throughout the site, bulging and buckling ceilings and damage to hardware, locks, walls, sinks and toilets, among other issues, were some of the “serious deficiencies” outlined in a letter from HUD that put the Ralston owners in violation of their contract.

The failed inspection prompted an August 5 visit to the Ralston by U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) and Henderson. Following a tour of the 269-unit complex, Bishop called the conditions “deplorable” and demanded change.

The property will be reinspected at the end of the 60-day period to confirm the owners have made corrections and the property meets HUD standards, according to a September 13 letter from HUD to Bishop.

If the new inspection report determines the property is still not in compliance, HUD may terminate the contract.

If that happens, many residents could be left with nowhere to go as the vouchers they are issued to help pay their rent are not portable, meaning they can’t be used at another Section 8-approved housing unit within the community.

Henderson said HUD will work to protect the residents if the contract is canceled.

“Nobody gets displaced, nobody is made homeless,” Henderson said. “If they cancel the contract, HUD would actually operate the facility until they could find permanent housing for all the residents.

“Our goal all along has been providing safe, quality clean housing for these residents . . . we’re just happy to see somebody step in and provide these folks the housing that they signed up for.”

Bishop provided a statement about the property via email on Monday.

“My office has not heard anything about any improvements at this time, but HUD has informed us the process requires them to reinspect the property at the end of the 60 day period. We look forward to hearing the results of the reinspection and ensuring the people of Ralston Towers have housing that meets federal standards.”

Calls to PF Holdings Inc. and the management office at the Ralston were not returned as of press time. A request to HUD for comment was also not returned.