The Crawford Apartments, a complex for housing some of Bloomington’s most vulnerable residents, could lose its rental permit.
The City of Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development department sued the apartment’s owners and management last week.
Read more: City issues notice of default to Crawford Apartments, citing code violations
The lawsuit describes rental code violations from HAND inspections July 31, 2024, for Crawford I and August 7, 2024, for Crawford II.
The reports describe issues in just over half of the 61 units in Crawford’s two buildings. These include cockroach infestations in several units, holes in the walls or ceiling in about 20 units, and missing or broken smoke detectors in 17 units.
The reports mention general disrepair, such as broken cabinets, mold, and eight toilets in need of repairs.
A notice of default from the city earlier this month said about 36 percent of Crawford’s 61 units are uninhabitable because of damage.
Crawford’s owners have until Aug. 1 to get units up to standards, according to the notice. If that doesn’t happen, the Crawford Apartments could have to pay fines to Bloomington and could face legal action.
Bloomington published a list of compliance requirements for the apartment complex, owned by Cinnaire and Continental Management, both based in Michigan.
The city’s list includes:
- a watchtower be provided for police
- a Supportive Services and Implementation Plan approved by the city
- naloxone boxes
- a peer recovery specialist
- additional training for Beacon Case managers
Beacon, Inc. provides on-site services. It runs a program called Crawford Homes, which places people experiencing homelessness in the Crawford Apartments and in various other apartments in Bloomington.
The Crawford name comes from Franklin “Road Dog” Crawford, a chronically homeless man with addictions and mental health problems who died alone in 2011 in Bloomington behind the location of what’s now the post office on South Walnut Street.
