(from Matt Stiles and Anna Ruiz of the Chron)
City building inspectors on Wednesday issued several safety citations against an East End apartment complex owned by state Rep. Hubert Vo.
The citations to the Courtyard Apartments on Villa de Matel allege eight structural and electrical problems, including rotting wood, missing balcony railings, loose boards and broken windows, city officials said.
"There were the kinds of things you'd see in a building that has not been well-maintained," said Susan McMillian, a senior staff analyst in the city's Public Works and Engineering Department. "It needed more intense maintenance than what had been done."
Homeowners in the nearby County Club neighborhood have complained about the property for years, calling it a visual blight and a magnet for crime.
"It's really a deplorable situation, and the sad thing is that people are actually living there," said Charles Mayfield, a member of the area's Super Neighborhood Council. "It's really disheartening to see, and surprising, to say the least, that anybody — no matter who they are — would let the property get into such a condition."
Vo, a Democrat running for re-election to his southwest Houston seat in the Texas House, has owned the four-building, $2.8 million property under one of his companies, Newlink Investments, Inc., since 2002.
His campaign issued a statement late Wednesday:
"At the property in question, work was started a month ago to correct items the city has concerns about," the statement read.
"The city understands I will make all the necessary repairs because I want my properties to be a safe place for my tenants and an asset to the neighborhood."
Broken windows, missing window screens, wood rot and a parking lot plagued with potholes were among obvious problems visible at the complex Wednesday.
I would argue that the City doesn't understand that you are in the process of making the necessary changes because they cited you for safety and maintenance violations, but that's just me.
Hopefully Vo's assertions are more than just lip service and he maintains the property as he should. After all, we elect Government officials to put a stop to these practices, not participate in them right?
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1 comments:
given the property's proximity to the proposed Harrisburg METRORail line, one has to wonder if any undue influence or insider information was used. He probably is sitting on the land spending as little as possible on maintenance, waiting for the line to go in so that he can turn around and bulldoze the buildings and either sell the land for much more than it is worth today, or build something more upscale on it.
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