The city of Bloomington filed a breach of contract lawsuit this week seeking to recover the $685,000 it has invested in Crawford Apartments, a facility for housing the homeless.
The defendants are Continental Management, Cinnaire Solutions, and Beacon Inc.
The lawsuit follows a notice of default for renter violations the city filed against Crawford Apartments in June. That outlined a list of repairs and other changes the city was requiring by August 1.
The lawsuit said Crawford has repeatedly missed deadlines for improvements over the past 22 months.
“There has been a lack of accountability to meet deadlines, and we can’t continually move the goal posts,” said Anna Killion-Hanson, the city’s Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development.
She said when the city went to reinspect the apartments recently, it determined that Crawford had missed yet another deadline.
“It was the best that we'd seen the property,” she said. “However, there were still nine pages of violations.”
These included missing smoke detectors and “fire safety issues throughout the building.” The city wants a more thorough implementation plan from Beacon Inc for its supportive services, which Killion-Hanson said “should really outline how (Beacon) is interacting with the tenants and what services they're providing.”
Read more: City sues Crawford Apartments' owners
She said property owners and management have invested money over the last year in improving conditions, but it’s not sustainable.
“It's a money pit for them to continually try to repair but then be subject to additional damages by behavioral issues within the complex,” she said.
Despite the legal action, Killion-Hanson said the city is “working collaboratively” to get Crawford up to standards outlined in local and federal rules.
