Springfield Standard

The City of Springfield issued a notice on Friday for a September 17 hearing in a nuisance building case related to Jenny Lind Hall, an apartment building located at 711 S. Jefferson. Jenny Lind Hall offers low-income housing for seniors and persons with disabilities and is federally subsidized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Depending on the severity, when a hearing officer determines that a building violates City Code Sec. 26-62 (dangerous, blighted, and building nuisance code), the City can order it to be repaired within a given timeline. The owner has 30 days to comply with the order. If the order remains unsatisfied at that time, the City may repair or, in severe cases, demolish the building. The City's costs would be assessed as a special tax bill against the property, which may be enforced through a sheriff’s sale. Additionally, if an owner fails to comply with the order, they may be cited for a municipal ordinance violation.

According to City Manager Jason Gage, "The City's role is to make sure the property owners are making progress as fast as reasonably possible and also try to prevent a situation where tenants are left without a place to stay while the elevators are being repaired."

To clarify, the City is not closing the building.

The step to schedule a hearing comes after property owners Millenia Housing failed to get elevators in working order and have stopped communicating with the City's Building Development Services Department (BDS).

For most of 2024, Jenny Lind Hall has been without at least one of its two elevators. The City's Department of Building Development Services began investigating complaints on February 2, 2024.

The City's property maintenance code requires that buildings with elevators maintain them in proper working order. Chapter 26, Article III of the City Code Sec. 26-62 itemizes conditions that qualify as public nuisances; #12 specifically references compliance with property maintenance codes.

In mid-May, property owners communicated with tenants that they were reviewing bids and planned to modernize the elevators. They reported making a down payment to an elevator contractor and anticipated parts would take 60-90 days, with repairs expected to begin on July 29.

According to City contacts at HUD, there are currently 67 tenants at Jenny Lind Hall; nine tenants reside at a hotel paid for by Millenia. Management offered tenants alternative accommodations.

On July 25, BDS posted a notice and order to abate (repair) the elevators and made multiple daily efforts over several weeks to contact building management and Millenia but received no positive response. Given this lack of communication and failure to comply with repair orders, the case is moving forward.

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