JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Resident complaints and unpaid fines have continued to pile up at a troubled apartment complex on Jacksonville’s Westside despite the complex getting new property management in October, according to recent data provided by the City of Jacksonville.
On Dec. 4, the City of Jacksonville’s Code Compliance gave News4JAX an update regarding Arbor Oaks Apartments on Jammes Road, and confirmed there were 12 active cases on the property, with seven resulting in fines.
The city also said two new complaints were awaiting initial inspections, and the citations and fines issued remained open and unpaid.
In late October, there were 10 active enforcement cases, according to the City of Jacksonville.
News4Jax returned to the property Monday. We saw what residents say is a vacant apartment with the door open and possibly broken. Residents say animals go in there. We also observed holes in the barbed wire fence. Residents also say people experience homelessness come through the fence and sometimes go into the unused units. We also noticed multiple boarded up units.
We reached out to the property manager for the new management team Legacy Family Communities who hung up on us.
The apartment complex, which was initially linked to Peoples Choice Apartments, sparked a News4JAX I-TEAM investigation in September after a resident reported going days without running water.
“If you want to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, we are literally using the bathroom in buckets and then carrying it outside and throwing it in the trash,” said Naportia Jones back in September.
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According to JEA, the water service had been off since July due to a $15,000 unpaid bill, with JEA reporting meter tampering. After News4JAX’s initial story, JEA said the bill was paid by Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC, the company listed as the property owner.
The I-TEAM tried repeatedly to contact property management and ownership to get answers for residents living amid uncollected trash and deteriorating conditions.
Despite water service being restored, other issues persisted.
The City of Jacksonville confirmed 15 complaints since July in connection with Arbor Oaks, resulting in more than $2,300 in fines for insect infestations, garbage issues, and ceiling damage.
After weeks of knocking on doors with no response, a representative from the management company ran into someone with the property management team, but they refused to answer questions or provide contact information for ownership.
The city said property management told them they were aware of the issues and planned to address them.
News4JAX also looked into the property owner.
Attempts to reach the owner, according to property records, Andrew Sallee, who has a large social media following, were unsuccessful. He initially claimed to have sold the property back to the previous owner but did not provide proof of sale or respond to calls.
The I-TEAM tracked Sallee to a condo building in Fort Lauderdale but could not reach him.
After returning to Jacksonville, News4JAX received an email from Legacy Family Communities, a new management group formed shortly after the initial reports.
The new group acknowledged the problems and said they were committed to fixing them.
Since then, some visible improvements have been made at Arbor Oaks, including trash pickup and maintenance work. However, the new management has not agreed to an interview and shut their office door when approached.
News4JAX has also reached out to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation about the conditions but received no response.
Councilwoman Tyrona Clark Murray, representing the district, said in a September meeting she was aware of the issues and planned to discuss solutions, but to this date, she has not scheduled a follow-up meeting.