The Bloomington City Council voted Wednesday to allow Union at Crescent apartments to keep its reduced tax agreement with the city after a tense debate.
Union at Crescent agreed to provide no fewer than 102 of its 146 units specifically for people who make under $41,760. Those units would have to be filled each year in order for the property owners, Annex Group, to keep their reduced tax agreement. If the units are not filled, the cause would have to be beyond the property owner’s control.
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Bloomington’s Economic & Sustainable Development Department recommended the city council find Union at Crescent not compliant with the agreement.
As of May 16, the property had only filled 43 of those 102 units. That was down from the 74 units occupied in September of last year, according to the city.
The units were filled, as required, in 2022 and 2023.
Union at Crescent said it is having trouble filling units due to an increase of trespassing, nearby crime and damaged facilities.
Anna Killion-Hanson, director of Bloomington’s Housing and Neighborhood Development, said some units were damaged and stained with human waste.
Sam Hurley, Chief Financial Officer for Annex Group, said Union at Crescent’s former management team, TNH, was not on site and did not properly respond to concerns from tenants.
That led to Annex Group to take full control of management in March. Since then, Hurley said, issues have been addressed by increasing security, hiring a professional cleaning service, and committing over $500,000 to property improvements.
When discussing whether the lack of filled units was beyond Union at Crescent’s control, Killion-Hanson said she believes it’s a grey area with blame to go around.
“Any property like this needs really strong management out the gate,” she said. “When you don't have a presence on site, you are inviting unwanted guests and essentially that's not attractive for anybody that wants to lease it.”
The city council voted unanimously to find Union at Crescent made reasonable efforts to be substantially compliant and that any failure to comply was beyond its control.
The vote was not without some tension.
The hearing ended a near five-hour council meeting. Some councilmembers began to talk over one another as some wanted to have the vote.
“Are there council member comments,” asked council president Hopi Stosberg. “No council member (Sydney) Zulich, we can't just vote. This is called due process. Are there council member comments?”
According to the city, Union at Crescent still has 34 life safety violations that need to be addressed by September 5.
If Union at Crescent does not comply, the city can file a lawsuit, which could lead to revoking the property’s rental permits.