MEMPHIS, Tenn. — City of Memphis officials have filed a petition seeking to declare Serenity Towers a chronic public nuisance.
The petition, filed in Shelby County Environmental Court, lists both Serenity Towers and Millenia Housing Management as the respondent.
"Serenity Towers is the site of numerous health and safety concerns," the filing reads. "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.
Included in the petition is a host of different issues from within the building including repeated issues with the elevators malfunctioning which has been blamed on a missing part and a repairs timetable is unclear. The city also mentions the lack of air conditioning in the past that have yet to be fixed.
"Serenity Towers is providing inadequate hot water for its residents," the filing reads. "Although Serenity Towers has at times temporarily corrected this issue, it has failed to maintain adequate hot water as the hot water system frequently fails."
The city also accuses the building as failing to maintain pest control treatment, including for bed bugs, and lists past citations from the city.
"These are no longer active cases but show a pattern of repeated ordinance violations occurring at Serenity Towers that has persisted for years," the filing reads.
There were 2,079 calls for service to the Memphis Police Department between Jan. 1, 2022 to Feb. 9, 2024, according to the filing, and of that period there have been: 8 aggravated assaults; 4 arsons; 9 burglaries; 5 dead on arrivals of natural causes; 10 dead on arrivals for unknown causes; 2 narcotics violations; 17 emergency commitments; 12 instances of intimidation; 18 simple assaults; 9 trespassing instances; 21 calls have occurred in individuals being taken into custody.
U.S Housing & Urban Development suspended its relationship with Millennia Companies, which operates the much-maligned Memphis Towers, Serenity Towers and dozens more across the South in December.
State Representative G. A. Hardaway and Shelby County Assessor of Property Melvin Burgess announced an investigation in August into what they said were "alarming" conditions at Serenity Towers.
Hardaway said at the time he's met with people who live at the senior living facility who complained about the lack of air conditioning, leading to dangerously hot temperatures inside the units.
They also said the elevators often don't work, leaving some residents stranded on their floors.
Burgess and his team said they are looking into the building's history and county records. Burgess said he is also appointing a team to conduct a ‘physical assessment of the condition of the property.’
Residents told ABC24 they just want something to change.
“I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired,” said resident Henry Smith Jr. “If I can get somebody to let me have my voucher to my room, I can move somewhere else because this really don't make sense. I'm so tired of these folks. I don't know what to do.”
“We can’t allow our seniors to suffer and die. We need an immediate assessment and immediate improvements,” said Hardaway.
Residents have been dealing with issues at this tower for years. In 2022, officials with the complex were fined for code enforcement violations. They said at the time all the issues were fixed.