Residents of the upper floors at Wildwood Off Main Apartments in Kalamazoo Township received a Wednesday evening email ordering them out of their homes immediately. Professional engineers had determined that every deck and stair system in the complex was structurally unsafe and needed to be replaced. The notice arrived around 7:30 p.m., with no advance warning.

"The first email said that we could continue living as normally," said Lily Deanda, a college student who has lived at the complex for two years. "So this was kind of a shock to us. And it's very frustrating because there's no timeline. We don't know what to do."

From condemnation to evacuation in three weeks

The Kalamazoo Area Building Authority (KABA) posted condemned notices on every unit at Wildwood Off Main about three weeks earlier. Management told residents at that time that the company had retained legal counsel to dispute the condemnation order. Upper-floor residents continued living in their apartments during that period.

The evacuation order on Wednesday changed that reality. According to management's notice, the structural failures in the stairways and decks also created risks for lower-level units. Lower-floor residents were warned not to stand beneath the stairs and decks and to confirm the structures above them were not in use before entering or exiting their apartments.

What management offered displaced tenants

Management told upper-level residents that hotel accommodations were available. The offer included up to five days in a hotel or reimbursement of up to $200. Residents were also asked not to move large furniture down the stairways, because doing so could create additional safety risks.

"We don't really have any other options, so I guess the hotel it is," Deanda said. "But it's very frustrating. We have large furniture. Not sure when we'll be able to move that out. It's just so short notice. It's already late."

Management said it expected the township to remove the condemned tags from lower-level units once the upper-level apartments were fully vacated. The company said it was working on alternative solutions for displaced residents.

A pattern of confusion

Residents told News Channel 3 that the messaging from management had shifted without explanation. Aaron Cox and Jackie Miller, who have lived at Wildwood for more than five years, said they had seen contractors on site about a week before the evacuation order but received no updates after that.

"This was very short notice, and it was inconsistent with the messaging," Miller said. "By then our yellow tape was already on our stairs."

"We have not received any communication since that," Miller added. "This is the first communication really we've gotten with an updated message and for it to be in one night, 'hey, you need to be out,' was very short."

Kayo Higgins, another resident, questioned how so many people could be left confused about the timeline and severity of the situation.

"If everyone's confused, that means there was definitely some miscommunication going on, right?" Higgins said. "Because how do you fool that many people?"

Management has not responded to requests for comment

News Channel 3 has reached out multiple times to New Earth Residential, the Colorado-based company that manages Wildwood Apartments, since the condemnation story first emerged. The outlet reported it had not received a response. Several residents and parents told the station they had experienced the same difficulty getting answers from the company directly.

"People are just wanting answers," Miller said. "And it feels like they (the office) are trying to give us something but they can't. And that's more frustrating."

What residents heard at the township board

At a Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees meeting on Monday night, residents described additional problems that had emerged since the condemnation. According to Public Media Network's coverage of the meeting, residents reported that management had continued to show and market units after the condemnation order. Some residents said they were presented with non-disparagement agreements before they could leave. Those agreements reportedly included confidentiality clauses with $5,000 penalties for speaking publicly about their experience or posting negative reviews.

Residents also reported that June rent was being billed on condemned units, mail delivery had stopped, trash was accumulating at dumpsters, and stairways and balconies remained dangerous for those who had chosen to stay.

Township Supervisor Combs told residents that the township has no legal jurisdiction over the condemnation or its enforcement. That authority rests with KABA, a separate unit of government. The township cannot condemn buildings, enforce condemnations, or intervene in landlord-tenant disputes through its own authority.

Supervisor Combs encouraged residents with ordinance complaints to file them through ktwp.org or contact him directly at supervisor@ktwp.org. He also pointed residents toward the Kalamazoo County Housing Office, reachable at 269-720-3246, and noted that KABA holds public meetings with public comment periods.

Timeline of events

  • May 7: KABA posts condemned notices on every unit at Wildwood Off Main
  • May 8: Inspection reports reveal rotting stairways, rusting metal supports, and metal panels tearing away from underneath decks
  • May 9: Management emails residents saying Wildwood has "retained counsel to dispute this condemnation"
  • May 11: Residents are told June rents or future prorates will not be waived, because no evictions were enforced and proper relocation procedure was not followed by the Township
  • May 12: An attorney says tenants would be justified in ending their leases without further obligation for rent payments
  • May 27 (Wednesday evening): Upper-unit residents receive evacuation order around 7:30 p.m. citing structurally unsafe decks and stair systems