The second- and third-floor exterior walkways of the north Lincoln apartment building had been on the city’s radar for years.
Housing inspectors ordered the owner of 4501 Tranquility Drive to replace the stair towers nearly a decade ago. And during their annual inspections, they monitored the rot and deterioration of the wooden beams supporting the concrete platforms.
“In the last year, it’s been getting progressively worse and we’re starting to get real concerned,†said chief housing inspector Sean Stewart. “We gave notice to the owner at the time that we need to address this and get them shored up.â€
The owner hired an engineer, who determined repair was no longer an option. They’d have to be replaced.
Which led to 13 families on the second and third floors getting alarming news from the property manager at the beginning of October.
“Thanks for renting with Century,†the letter began. “We are writing to inform you of the need to move from your apartment for the demolition of balconies and stairwells.â€
The deadline: 5 p.m. Nov. 4.
“Failure to move out could result in legal action, including an eviction,†the letter concluded.
Both the letter and Chad Blahak, director of Building and Safety, said the property manager and the city tried to find a way to keep the upper apartments accessible during the $90,000 project, but there was no safe way to do that. The work won’t displace first-floor renters, Blahak said.
In the two-bedroom apartment she shares with her daughter on the second floor, Stacey Messman did the math in her head.
Moving to a new apartment isn’t cheap: First and last month’s rent, plus the security deposit and application fees can easily require an initial cash layout of $2,500 or more.
Many of her neighbors live paycheck to paycheck and don’t have that kind of money available, she said. Many don’t know what to do.
“Some of us are on a fixed income, some of us are disabled. It’s a vicious circle; a month ago, we didn’t think we’d have to come up with all this money and find a place to go in days.â€
There are other barriers. Some of the residents, like Messman, rely on federal Section 8 housing subsidies to help pay their rent, but not all landlords accept them, further narrowing their options.
Some don’t have the qualifying credit score required by landlords.
And even those who can afford it are having trouble finding a comparable apartment on short notice.
Kenny Harris lives in a three-bedroom, third-floor apartment with his wife, Lisa Marie, two teen daughters and a disabled sister-in-law.
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Most of their belongings are boxed up, waiting to move. But they still haven’t found anywhere to go.
“We can pay for a place. We have no problem paying the bills. We just need someone to let us in,†he said.
He estimated they’ve spent hundreds of dollars on nonrefundable application fees; most landlords require one for every adult, and they have three under their roof. Even Century Sales and Management, who they already pay rent to, charged them application fees for possible units in its other properties, Harris said.
The Century Sales and Management official handling 4501 Tranquility could not be reached for comment.
Messman doesn’t blame anybody for the failing structures. The building is nearly 45 years old. The stairs wobble. The walkway leans.
But she questions the timing. If the problem was apparent for years, why give such short notice?
“You’re going to wait to tell us just before the holidays? I’m frustrated.â€
Messman took inventory this week, knocking on her neighbors’ doors. Of the 13 displaced apartment tenants, three had found new housing — including one family moving to an empty unit on the first floor.
That left 10 families with just about a week to find and sign a new lease, she said.
Messman called the mayor’s office. She called the city ombudsman. And she might have found a source of hope she hadn’t known existed.
She was pointed toward the Displaced Tenant Assistance Program, administered by Community Action Partnership and funded by Building and Safety and the Health Department.
The nonprofit’s Jessie Hedrick declined to describe the help the program provides, or whether anyone from Tranquility Drive had already applied. But she urged those living at the apartment building to call Community Action’s Sarah Fentress at 402-875-9392 if they need help.
With the deadline to move out approaching, Messman was hoping the program would help her. If not, she and her daughter still didn’t know where they’d be in a week.
Century did offer them use of an empty garage to temporarily store their belongings, she said.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do anymore. Are we going to end up living in my car?â€
Stacey Messman stands outside her apartment building at 4501 Tranquility Drive this week. The city's Building and Safety Department declared walkways on upper floors unsafe, forcing 13 families to find new homes by Nov. 4.
The wooden beams holding up the second- and third-floor exterior walkways at 4501 Tranquility Drive are rotting and need to be replaced, forcing renters to find new places to live.