Apartment owners dispute ‘unsafe’ label

Owners of a North Las Vegas apartment complex say they will continue to operate even though public housing officials have deemed the complex unsafe and yanked subsidies for low-income tenants, effectively forcing the relocation of about 1,000 people.

Florida-based Creative Choice West, which owns the Buena Vista Springs Apartments near Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, has no plans to close any of its units, said John Wooldridge, director of asset management for the company.

Instead, the company will continue to rent out any vacant units, though they will no longer be leased as subsidized housing.

"Our property has always been maintained to physical safety standards and the interior of our apartments are in excellent condition with no municipal code violations," Wooldridge said in a statement.

But Kenneth LoBene, director of the Las Vegas office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the complex prompted his agency to pull its more than $200,000 in monthly subsidies for low-income tenants in 236 of the complex's 276 units.

"We have a contract with the owner, and part of the responsibility is they must maintain safe and sanitary housing," LoBene said. "Starting several years ago, we started seeing the property's physical condition deteriorate. We felt we had to take action."

LoBene said the property failed several of the agency's inspections. Problems included exposed electrical outlets, leaking roofs and plumbing back-ups, he said.

Many of the property's units house large families, LoBene said. He estimated that between 1,000 and 1,200 people will have to move.

"We're going to assist them," he said. "We'll make sure everybody gets placed."

The Clark County Housing Authority will determine tenants' eligibility for Section 8 housing vouchers and help them find new housing, LoBene said.

Wooldridge said the complex hasn't produced enough cash flow in recent years to maintain its exterior to HUD's standards, but the facility is safe and livable.

He also said the company decided it would be more practical to redevelop the entire property rather than rehabilitate it in its present state.

North Las Vegas also has inspected the exterior and issued some notices of code violations, but has not ordered the complex or any of its units closed, a city spokeswoman said.

Advocates for the homeless have long complained about a lack of affordable housing in the Las Vegas Valley and a dearth of property owners willing to accept vouchers.