St. Paul residents are without a home this holiday season, after their downtown apartment building was condemned by the city.

The Lowry Apartments has been at the center of concerning living conditions and failed building inspections for months. 

“I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it,” said Chris Garmon, a Lowry Apartments tenant.

Garmon got home from work and was faced with a notice explaining the Lowry Apartments, his home of seven years, was condemned until further notice.

“I had to get all of my stuff, the majority of my stuff, and move it out,” Garmon said.

The city of St. Paul issued a mandatory order to vacate the building on Monday.

City officials said in a statement that issues with the heat, electrical, and fire suppression systems made the building unfit to live in.

They connected all of the 71 tenants with temporary housing in area hotels.

“It’s sad. I pay my rent every month, so I don’t feel safe that I have to get out of here,” Garmon said.

Last week, Anthony Gibson, one of the tenants, sat down with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, calling on the city for help.

RELATED: Residents at the troubled Lowry Apartments say the building’s heat has been out since October

For two months, the Gibson family said the building did not have heat. 

“It shouldn’t take you this long to really condemn the building,” Gibson said. “It’s sad we have to go through this.”

The tenants are now faced with uncertainty about where they’ll call home.

“It’s not fair. I’ve been here for seven years. We’re tax-paying citizens, and what they’re trying to do isn’t right,” Garmon said.

Tenants explained they’re still facing challenges in the hotel without access to food and transportation.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to the new building management, Frauenshuh and Halverson Blasier Group, several times and is still waiting for a response.

We followed up with the city of St. Paul to ask what are the long-term plans for the building and the tenants and are still waiting for a response.

A statement from St. Paul can be read below.

“On December 9, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and the Department of Safety and Inspections issued a mandatory order to vacate the Lowry Apartments at 345 Wabasha St.  

Compounded issues with the building’s heat, electrical, and fire suppression systems mean the building is unsafe in its current state. Most importantly, the lack of an operational fire suppression system has necessitated 24-hour fire watch until all occupants have moved out.  

We successfully connected the building’s 71 occupants with temporary housing in area hotels. Residents will have access to their apartments during scheduled time slots in order to retrieve personal belongings.”

In a letter provided by the City of St. Paul on Wednesday, Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher sent an email to Representative María Perez-Vega and Council Member Rebecca Noecker outlining the issues with the building and next steps for the tenants:

“Yesterday afternoon, our staff responded to an active plumbing leak in the Lowry Building.  They briefed me that multiple doors that had previously been secured, had been breached.  There was significant damage and vandalism, theft of copper wire that resulted in numerous exposed/open electrical systems.  Water damage from the leak led to concerns about mold/potential need to abate any of that.  Shutting off the water for repairs would mean no heat (boiler) and no fire suppression active for the building in the event of a fire.

I connected with the Halverson Blaiser Group.  While they had attempted to get the building repaired and had made progress over the past couple months, with this set back it was not realistic to assume the boiler or water would be operational in a short period of time.  There was no other option than to conclude the building was not safe for residents to stay.  HB Group agreed to provide up to 30 days of alternative housing for all the residents.  City staff leveraged partnerships with Ramsey County and Met Transit to locate hotels and transportation.  City staff then worked until late yesterday evening helping residents pack and get to the hotels. 

Some residents have leases in the Lowry, many did not.  Some are working with SMRLS for legal support.  We are ensuring all are connected to Ramsey County.  Next steps will depend on the speed in which the HB Group can repair the building and options available for residents.”