MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Attorneys said residents at Serenity Towers will need to be relocated due to elevators not working during a status hearing in court Thursday, Nov. 14.
The attorney said work to fix the elevators has not begun because a repairperson has not been selected to remedy the problem. He stressed that the elevators can be repaired, but Serenity Towers cannot get their "business relationships together."
Without working elevators, the attorney suggested that residents should be relocated to temporary living accommodations, with the possibility of a permanent relocation happening later.
Officials with the City of Memphis said around 200 residents live at Serenity Towers.
During Thursday's hearing, it was believed that there were not any funds to pay for elevator repairs.
This comes after Shelby County Environmental Court Judge Patrick Dandridge declared Serenity Towers a chronic nuisance during a hearing Tuesday, Oct. 15.
City of Memphis officials filed a petition to declare the apartment complex a chronic nuisance earlier this year.
"Serenity Towers is the site of numerous health and safety concerns," the filing read. "The various Memphis Fire Department and Code Enforcement citations, as well as calls to the Memphis Police Department give evidence to those concerns."
The petition lists that numerous complaints from citizens and residents regarding the conditions in the building.
"This petition is filed to alleviate years of on-going, long-term, and worsening problems occurring at Serenity Towers," the petition reads. "Serenity Towers is a chronic nuisance that adversely affects the health and safety of those living there and the community as a whole evidenced by repeated patterns of ordinance violations and criminal activity."
The city's filing asks for the court to declare the building is a chronic nuisance and order any and all remedies to abate the conditions.