WILLOWICK, Ohio — Residents from an apartment complex damaged during recent storms told News 5 that the issues they experienced prior to late August have been getting worse.
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Two people were injured when the parking garage at Shoregate Towers in Willowick collapsed on Aug. 23. Investigators are still in the process of determining what caused the collapse. It happened during a stretch of severe weather in Northeast Ohio.
Before the structure crumbled, some neighbors say they had filed numerous complaints with the property management about maintenance and safety concerns throughout the apartment complex.
Jeff Bohatch pointed out cracking cement walls and floor on his fourth-floor balcony, as well as poor water pressure and buckling tiles behind his shower faucet.
“Ever since the garage collapsed, more of the chaos has started,” he said.
He shared photos with News 5 of trash piled in the hallway outside of a garbage chute, explaining the litter was backed up from the compactor on nearly every floor.
Thursday, new dumpsters were dropped off at the complex, and workers moved trash into the receptacles from the hallway floors. But Bohatch said the repeated issues have attracted pests to the buildings.
“In the laundry room, we’ve had collapse of ceiling tiles above from sewer rats coming down above us. We have roaches, we have ants, spiders, everything coming in,” he explained.
Others added the elevators routinely break down, sometimes temporarily trapping residents inside or forcing them to use the stairs in the 12-story towers.
“Some days we have one elevator, some days we have none. And that’s kind of hard. The other day I saw one of the elderly residents try to come down the stairs with a crutch,” said Tima Motley, who’s lived in the East Tower for 5 years.
News 5 previously reported the property owners were found guilty of 15 building code violations in May 2023, and court records show the property was accused in 2020 of failing to correct damaged concrete and metal beams, columns and foundation walls throughout the garage.
The owners are on probation with Willoughby Municipal Court for mandatory written reporting.
Some residents told News 5 they wonder if the parking garage collage could have been prevented.
“You have to keep buildings like this up. You can’t just neglect them; they have to be kept up,” Motley said.
In recent weeks, several more code violations have been filed against the owners. They were cited for the malfunctioning elevators, trash and missing balcony guardrails.
Court documents show they’re scheduled to appear for an arraignment in late September.
Meanwhile, some who live in the complex worry about the current state of the building and its safety. They say their safety concerns have been amplified by the garage collapse.
“I’m not trying to be a casualty because they don’t want to keep it up or do what they need to do to make it at least up to code,” Motley said. “That’s a real fear of mine and my family’s.”
News 5 spoke to staff in the property’s on-site corporate office, who said the property owners have no comment.
On its website, the city of Willowick said, “The City has assured it is reviewing all resident complaints and prosecuting owners for any property maintenance, fire or building code violations.”
