Springfield apartment complex owners hit deadline due to elevator delay

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (3 KY) – The owners of Jenny Lind Hall Apartments in Springfield have met the first major deadline set by the City of Springfield.

In mid-October, city officials issued an emergency order giving Millenia’s owners until Oct. 31 to prove they worked with contractors to fix the broken elevator. Millenia turned in her paperwork Thursday afternoon, but not everyone believes it will actually happen.

“I’ll believe it when the elevators start working,” Elvester Kennedy said.

Kennedy has been living in a hotel for almost two and a half months because the elevators at Jenny Lind are broken. He is a disabled tenant in this complex.

Earlier this year, when the elevators broke down, he was unable to get around and had to pay for a hotel stay. However, Kennedy says he never expected to live anywhere else for so long.

“At first I thought, you know, when it first happened, maybe a month, but it was just one thing after another,” Kennedy said.

The city’s statement to KY3 said:

“We have received a signed contract proving that the property owner has contracted with the elevator company to replace both elevators at the Jenny Lind Apartments. This satisfies everything that is owed to the city to date.”

KY3 asked Kennedy if he believed the owners would comply with the city’s demands. He told us he didn’t know what to think because he still didn’t understand why progress had taken so long.

“When it first happened they said it would be three to six weeks before it was fixed. So that should show that they should have complied, but they didn’t,” he said.

The company has a year to complete the renovations and must provide monthly updates. Without an approved inspection within a year, the city can repossess the high-rise building. If this does not happen, further actions for the construction of an apartment building will be discussed with the city council.

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