MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Serenity Towers saga is slowly coming to an end as the city is getting ready to relocate residents.

In just a few months, the embattled Serenity Towers off Highland will be empty after years of problems. This comes after the complex was deemed uninhabitable, and the court temporarily assigned the city of Memphis the responsibility of stabilizing the conditions and relocating residents. 

City of Memphis Code Enforcement Prosecutor Will Gibbons has been working on the case since 2022.

After a status update hearing in Environmental Court Thursday morning, Gibbons says the relocation process is a dual effort between HUD and the city, but it’s still in the planning stages.

Gibbons says the city is helping tenants who pay market rate find alternative housing, while HUD assists those on a voucher. 

“Sufficient, adequate, affordable is always a challenge in Memphis. It will continue to be but we feel confident for these residents that they’ll be able to get relocated,” said Gibbons.

Special Master Marcus Ward says they are having conversations with landlords across the city regarding housing.

He says tenants have the right to go anywhere in the city they can afford.

“Some of the developers have multiple units. Some are single-family homes. There are some that are duplexes and other things, but it’s left up to the residents as to where they want to go,” Ward said.

Ward says they plan to start vacating residents in the next few weeks.

“If everyone had their way, we would move everyone today, but the city is doing the best they can to make sure to do the best they can to maintain the structure while we go through the things we need to go through to move people,” he said.

The attorney for Serenity Towers’ parent company, Millennia, was in court but did not provide any updates from their end.

Gibbons says Millenia still owes the city around $65,000 in unpaid fines.

Serenity Towers will be back in court on March 6 at 9 a.m.