New owner for uninhabitable Hobart apartment after building sold

A Hobart apartment building where 24 families were left homeless because of poor conditions is going to get a new lease on life, but not by the owner who allowed the poor conditions.

Glenwood Properties LLC principal Joseph Gore of Valparaiso sold the 11-unit building at 215 East St. at the end of last month to 215 East Street Apartments LLC, a subsidiary of Preferred Homes LLC, City Building Official Karen Hansen announced during Wednesday’s Board of Work’s meeting. Gore was ordered to appear before the board for not complying with the city’s order to complete the work it laid out for him.

The new owner, Dave Boyce, told the board his group is “very aware” of the problems the building had and issues they need to fix, but they’ve done a lot of projects in Hobart and are eager “put the problems to rest.”

“The outside and inside will have a totally different feel,” Boyce told the board.

“It’s an excellent building, and there’s such a need for housing,” Board President Mayor Brian Snedecor said. “I’m glad to see it’s going (to be done).”

Hansen told the board that while the new owners have plans to renovate the entire building, she’s asked them to hold off on that until the rest of the city’s order is fulfilled. One of the items, for example, is that the furnaces and rear fire escape need to be enclosed, on which the Hobart Fire Department will then have to sign off, she said.

Board attorney Heather McCarthy agreed.

“Resolve the order, and then you can proceed however you choose,” she said.

Boyce said he’s ready to pull the permits “immediately” and is looking forward to “making things better.”

“We don’t shy away from the tough projects,” Boyce told the Post-Tribune.

The board unanimously agreed to give 215 East Street Apartments LLC 30 days to pull the permits they need and set its next appearance for July 19.

Hobart firefighters conducted a wellness check on an elderly woman who lived in a basement apartment at the 100-year-old, 11-unit apartment building just east of downtown sometime after noon July 11, city officials said at the scene. Firefighters first discovered that the windows to the basement had been boarded and sealed shut.

Firefighters later learned that the woman had been moved out of the dwelling, officials said, but further investigation showed that the building had, among other problems, standing water in the basement, water leaking into the main electrical box and out of electrical outlets, and sewage from one unit bubbling up into another unit’s bathtub. City officials first posted bright yellow “Do Not Occupy” signs on the doors that afternoon; the order to shut it down completely came the next day.

“The inspection of the building at 215 East Street, Hobart, Indiana, concluded numerous violations relating to public safety including but not limited to electrical issues, blocked exits, inoperative illumination/exit signs, water leaks, sewage backup, expired fire extinguishers, potential asbestos and black mold, unsanitary living conditions and lack of properly working smoke detectors,” the order reads. “The condition of the building presents a clear and immediate danger of serious bodily injury.”

The city ordered Gore to appear at its July 20 Public Works meeting, where he told that board he would appeal its decision and reappear August 3 for a hearing, the Post-Tribune previously reported. At that time, City Attorney Heather McCarthy acknowledged that Gore had taken steps to come into compliance.

Gore initially made progress on mold remediation, but by August, Hansen said she and Gore had discussed several more items needing repair for which he’d yet to provide contractors and estimates. Among the items, Hansen said, were “demolition of the basement down to the studs” and removing all the debris; replacing the basement’s boarded-up windows; HVAC replacement on work that “was done illegally without permits”; and fixing sewage backup and water leaks in several apartments. At that point, the board gave Gore a deadline of 60 days to submit an HVAC estimate and told him to report back at its September 7 meeting for an update.

By September 7, work had then been stalled because of misunderstanding over whether electrical work should be started before or after the building was checked for asbestos, the Post-Tribune reported. Hansen told the Public Works board that of the 10 items discussed at the first public hearing on the matter August 3, only one — having a mold remediation company come in and air test the building — has been completed. Progress on the other items, such as surface testing for mold and the results of those tests; the air quality testing for Apartment three; hiring an asbestos inspector; submitting a quote for the HVAC scope of work; documenting the sewage leaks; and allowing the Building department back in to check the work, haven’t been submitted, she said.

Despite being at the August 3 meeting, Gore’s attorney, Greg Bouwer, said he and his client never received the list. With regard to the asbestos, however, workers in the building would know not to touch anything with asbestos, so Bouwer said they should be released from that obligation because “the law doesn’t require we do anything.”

Regarding the HVAC system, Bouwer said that Gore was “grandfathered” into the remodel that previous owner Jeff Greener did in 1996, so Gore wasn’t responsible for updating it just because the city determined it’s not up to code now. The city, however, had no record of any permit being pulled for the HVAC system, Hansen said then, including when Greener renovated it, so the city believes any work on it was done illegally.

“When you made reference to being ‘grandfathered,’ do you still contend that with no record of any work ever being done?” Snedecor said then.

Gore, who also owns Pinnacle Realty and Top Shelf Construction in Valparaiso, and the city did complete the asbestos inspection in November, and electrical permits were to be issued upon its completion.

A judgment docket book was entered Dec. 20 in Lake Superior Court Civil Division 6 against Gore, according to court records. A judgment docket book, according to the state’s website, “is a list of all judgments for the recovery of money or costs, indexed in alphabetical order, open to public inspection, and intended to afford official notice to interested parties of the existence of a judgment.”

The judgment of $245 was issued against Gore for an August violation of Hobart’s ordinance against high grass and weeds, the Post-Tribune previously reported. Gore, McCarthy said, neither paid the fines nor appeared in City Court over them.

Gore has eight other pending cases out of New Chicago for nuisance violations at various properties, court records show, in addition to a lawsuit filed in October by 17 of the tenants of 215 East, who are asking for “all reasonable actual, compensatory and/or consequential damages, recoverable punitive damages, recoverable prejudgment and post-judgment interest, recoverable attorney fees and costs and all other just and proper relief in the premises” on two counts, the Post-Tribune reported previously. The tenants are also seeking a jury trial.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.