UPDATE: A spokesperson for the Memphis Housing Authority provided WREG with an update on the relocation as of late Thursday, and there are 20 residents who are not being relocated to permanent housing immediately. The majority of those have pending inspections and or/funding.
Roughly 30 seniors were expected to move out on Thursday and Friday. For those who don’t have permanent housing, MHA says they will be relocated to temporary housing. Moves will continue over the weekend. Their goal is to have everyone out by Tuesday.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Serenity Towers has closed its doors for the last time, and the Memphis Housing Authority says roughly 30 residents are expected to move out sometime on Thursday.
Some now-former tenants say this closure has been a long time coming.
It’s the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new chapter for those who used to live at Serenity Towers. The building officially closed on Thursday, and some have very mixed emotions about how the move-out process has gone.
After 8 years, Marcus Garland is walking out of Serenity Towers for the last time.
“I’m ready to go. I’ve been ready to go for a long time,” said Garland. “Serenity Towers, they did some low-down stuff. How they did it and how they did people. They wouldn’t fix anything. They had critters and bed bugs running everywhere.”
Issues that lasted for years, like bed bugs, broken AC, downed elevators, and constant calls to police, are now a thing of the past for Garland and the other tenants moving to their new homes.
“I think at one point they were giving like $200 or some like that off your rent if you refer somebody. I never referred nobody. Never. I told them, ‘You don’t want to live here,'” said a resident.
The closure comes months after a judge deemed the troubled property a chronic public nuisance. All residents are required to be out by the end of the day.
One woman we spoke to, who didn’t want to be identified, says she’s glad to see her now former home shut down.
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“I had to go buy me some bug spray because the gnats is so bad in that building. Them gnats were tearing me up,” said the woman. “I’m trying to get up out of here. I’m so happy.”
However, the move-out process hasn’t been easy for everyone. We spoke to another woman who claims her relative has been barred from accessing and removing his personal items.
“I am just so frustrated right now because after you have lived in a place for so many years, and then they tell you, ‘Hey, get out.’ At least they could be a little more cordial,” she said.
We spoke with Special Master Marcus Ward, who explained the units had to undergo a pest control cleaning, and due to previous infestation issues, there might be some items that residents couldn’t carry to their new home.
Below is Ward’s statement in full.
“It is a priority of the relocation team that all tenants are relocated in a safe and sanitary manner. In that connection, the team is certifying to the landlords of the new units that all tenants and their units have been screened for bedbugs prior to relocation. Any furnishings or clothing that cannot pass the screen cannot be moved to the new location.“
Memphis Housing Attorney also released a statement regarding items that may have been left behind in units, saying that there are some items that tenants may not be allowed to retrieve because of sanitary issues.
Once residents have a signed lease and move out with the moving company, they are no longer occupants of that unit. For sanitary and security reasons, units are boarded once a move has occurred. Management will be reaching out to recently moved tenants to ensure all of their belongings have been moved. If tenants left something they wanted in the unit, arrangements will be made for them to retrieve those items. However, there are some items, due to sanitary issues, that management may not permit the tenant to retrieve (for example, old mattresses and bedding). Note – new mattresses and bedding or a furniture stipend is being provided to the tenant.
City of Memphis Special Attorney Carlissa Shaw previously said that the city will use “legal mechanisms” to remove anyone still living on the property after today.
On July 1, a judge will hear a motion to sell the property.