116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Some northwest Cedar Rapids renters must vacate after apartments deemed ‘not safe to occupy’
Residents of three Westhill Village Apartments buildings must relocate after engineer finds structural issues
CEDAR RAPIDS — Some residents of Westhill Village Apartments in northwest Cedar Rapids were ordered this week to leave their homes by the end of the month after an engineer flagged structural issues in three buildings, including cracks in the drywall and floor unevenness that may lead to a “potential structural failure.”
Residents of the buildings at 1610, 1620 and 1630 Seminole Ave. NW were given 30 days by Waterloo-based EPM Iowa, the private property management company, to vacate the properties.
The city of Cedar Rapids is requiring residents leave to allow for repairs of structural problems, some stemming from the 2020 derecho.
Antonio Chalmers, 35, who has lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the 1620 building since August 2022, is a touring artist, known as Tone Da Boss, and preparing to travel most of January. With little notice, he now has to find a new place to live, move his belongings and secure money for that move.
Since receiving notice to vacate, Chalmers said he’s looked at over a dozen apartments in town, but all cost more than the $620 a month he pays in rent and most offer less space. He has no idea where he’ll go.
The property manager’s note on residents’ doors suggested residents search for available units rented through the company, but most of those units are in Waterloo.
“I don’t have much family options out here to stay here that has any extra rooms, so I may have to live out of state,” Chalmers said. “I have an 8-year-old daughter that goes to school here who stays with me primarily and now has to stay with her mom.”
A Dec. 29 city Building Services staff letter shows the owner has enlisted an additional structural engineering firm to examine the properties and is evaluating appropriate steps.
The three properties will be placarded for no occupancy Feb. 1, unless repairs are made and approved by a registered design professional before the Jan. 31 deadline for residents to vacate, according to the letter.
EPM Iowa did not respond to The Gazette’s request for comment on Wednesday.
Besides the brief letter taped to residents’ doors, Chalmers said there hasn’t been in-depth contact with property managers. He’s uncertain when repairs could be made, if residents are ever allowed to return.
“We’re human-beings and all of our lives are changing in 30 days,” Chalmers said. “ … Help us relocate. Not everybody’s even tech savvy. I feel so bad for the more elderly families that don’t know what to do, don’t even know how to maneuver around the website to find something.”
Balcony issues were noticed first
During a regular city rental inspection on June 2, 2023, of the five buildings at Westhill Village Apartments, 1610-1630 Seminole Ave. NW, the Building Services staff “observed locations where the exterior balconies’ deck joists were deteriorated at the connection to the building cantilever and the outer rim boards were so deteriorated as to be disconnected,” according to the report.
This was after an April 14 inspection revealed code infractions, necessitating an additional inspection to determine whether infractions had been corrected or needed further attention.
Staff determined the balconies were potentially dangerous for continued use and required closing the exterior balconies to residents. City staff have been in contact with the property owner on a plan to replace or remove the balconies.
On Dec. 12, the Building Services Department received correspondence from Iowa City-based Axiom Consultants about potential safety concerns and the structural integrity of the five buildings.
A letter dated Dec. 5 signed by Axiom owner Robert Decker stated that a prospective buyer enlisted the firm to assess the five-building complex during the 45-day due-diligence period, before the sale of the building. It’s unknown if the sale is proceeding and how that might impact residents.
After a Nov. 2 and 6 site visit, Axiom shared certain issues warranted further investigation “to ensure the safety of the residents,” including the degraded condition of balconies.
Additional concerns — reported by maintenance staff and some residents, according to Axiom’s report — included extensive cracking in the walls and ceiling at balcony door locations with truss-bearing locations visible, as well as visible cracking at interior doorways.
When the Building Services Department received the report Dec. 12, the department notified owners they needed a structural engineer to examine all five buildings and determine whether they were safe for continued occupancy.
‘Evacuation should be executed promptly’
The department received a copy of a structural engineer’s report — by Natalya Hunt of Apex Structural, a Cedar Rapids metro-based company — from the owners Dec. 28. After conducting an assessment of the 1610, 1620 and 1630 buildings, Hunt reported:
- Cracks in the drywall of the stairwells, suggesting “there was significant lateral movement in the structure,” most likely related to 2020 derecho damage.
- Vertical cracks in the drywall above sliding doors, with about 30 percent of the apartments showing “stress cracks on the drywall above the doors and floor joists punching through the ceiling drywall.”
- Floor unevenness, revealing a “serious issue that can lead to a potential structural failure” as the interior wall is placed directly on the floor decking without structural support below it.
- Sagging ceiling in one third-floor apartment.
- A termite issue in the 1620 building.
“Given the gravity of these findings, it is my professional opinion that the apartment complex is not safe to occupy in the current conditions and ongoing issues,” Hunt wrote.
“The buildings require immediate repairs to prevent further deterioration and ensure the safety and integrity of the apartment complex. It is strongly advised that residents evacuate the buildings before doing any repairs. The evacuation should be executed promptly, preferably within the next 30 to 60 days.”
The Building Services Department notified the property owner that the 1610, 1620 and 1630 buildings were to be evacuated as soon as possible, no later than 11:59 p.m. Jan. 31. The letter was signed by Building Services Director Kevin Ciabatti and Code Enforcement Manager Greg Buelow.
A report regarding the 1615 and 1625 buildings is required before Feb. 1 indicating whether those two properties can be safely occupied.
Housing help
Since a new property management company took over around the fall of 2022, Chalmers said staff have entered units to conduct inspections almost every week, predating city inspections. In July, residents’ decks were boarded up, but otherwise they didn’t notice deeper structural issues.
“They’ve been doing a lot of inspections but haven’t really said much as to why,” Chalmers said. “ … Looking back at it, I feel like they were aware there were these issues and didn’t say anything.”
According to the Building Services Department, the city is in contact with the Westhill Village Apartments’ owner, the owner’s authorized agent and the private property management company.
Under housing and property maintenance codes adopted by the city, the owner or the owner’s authorized agent is responsible for compliance with code violations.
Residents seeking assistance in finding other housing may contact Waypoint’s Housing Services team at (319) 366-7999. The city has shared resident resource information with the property owner and property management company, according to the department, and “the property managers have been working with residents to address needs.”
A GoFundMe is available to assist approximately 24 families — potentially more if the other two buildings are vacated — with relocation expenses.
“The last thing I was expecting was an eviction,” Chalmers said.
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
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