Tenants Must Vacate Condemned Apartment or Face Arrest

The Westminster Court Apartments in St. Paul will undergo an extensive renovation, but first, apartment management says the buildings must be vacant.

Apartment management started working with existing tenants months ago, but now the city has condemned the building, and tenants must be out by July 9 or face arrest.

The city says the buildings were condemned after an inspection recorded over 600 code violations, including bed bug infestations. Wade Schatzer, President of Equimax Real Estate, says the buildings will require substantial work.

"It's at a point of no return," he said. "It needs to be completely renovated. It doesn't need to just be brought up to code."

Shatzer the decision was made to empty the buildings, but adds the decision wasn't easy.

"Most of the tenants had month to month leases, so basically we didn't renew leases, we didn't evict anybody."

Tomie Lee Johnson Jr. says he lived in one of the buildings for six months. Johnson says he's grateful for the help he received making it possible for him to move.

"I'll be located now in a different area of town, and everything is working out for me," he said.

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