Rats, trash and crumbling balconies are just some of the problems management at North Pointe Apartments in Euclid is working to address.
Fed up tenants, sick of living in deplorable conditions, have been telling us for months they're moving out.
But, we've learned at least one unwanted tenant recently moved in.
A resident on his way to do laundry recently made a disturbing discovery.
Chris Jaros, who lives on the 12th floor of the west building, made a wrong turn in the basement and ended up inside a dark room that he says someone was calling home.
RELATED
North Pointe Apartments manager pleads guilty to rat infestation, accumulation of garbage
North Pointe Apartments residents protest on-going rat problem
More complaints from residents at North Pointe Apartments in Euclid
"Ran across basically squatters in the basement," said Jaros.
Jaros said he found a cardboard shanty set up in an old activities room in the basement of North Pointe's west tower.
"That'd be in the bocce/youth-sized volleyball court that's closed to the public technically, but you can still just walk right over there," said Jaros.
And that's exactly what he tells me at least one homeless man did.
"Who would have thought you could just walk right into the basement of an apartment building and find a place to live," said Jaros.
Jaros believes he had been there a while.
"By the smell, at least a month. It's pretty bad," said Jaros.
As for how he got in? Jaros believes it was through a parking garage door.
"The lock is completely broken, it just kinda hangs there and flops around and push right in, you can walk right into the building," said Jaros.
Jaros, who's only lived at North Pointe since September, was not shocked by what he found, including human feces.
"I don't know what to tell you, it just didn't surprise me by the atmosphere in that place," said Jaros.
Cell phone video Jaros recently took shows water dripping onto his bed in the middle of the night.
An inspection report, just obtained by News 5, shows the City of Euclid is giving North Pointe management 90 days to fix a laundry list of health and safety violations.
"Massive spiders, ant infestation, garbage everywhere, just filthy," said Jaros.
The report shows the property still has a rat and insect problem, leaking water is leading to mold and mildew in the basement and underground garage which is also where there are corroded steel beams and deteriorated concrete.
For now, Jaros is adapting to the leak above his bed.
"I don't even live in my bedroom. Just moved out on the couch, got a nice comforter, that's all I do," said Jaros.
He is also taking matters into his own hands. Cell phone video shows Jaros using a leaf blower to get rid of trash he found in a common area.
Jaros notified management at North Pointe about the homeless squatters and they removed the cardboard from the room.
We reached out to the attorney representing North Pointe's owners for our story and he was not available to explain how squatters could have been living in the basement.
The City of Euclid tells us while some progress has been made at North Pointe, issues remain that still need to be addressed.
