Residents at Arbor One apartment complex in Ypsilanti, Mich., have dealt with leaking buildings, roach-infested units and inconsistent communication from their property management.
Current and former residents reported frustration over the neglect from management, mentioning that phones often went unanswered and doors to the leasing offices were frequently locked during open hours.
In late 2024, apartment buildings around the complex began receiving lack of compliance notices.
After weeks of uncertainty and a closed session of Ypsilanti's City Council to discuss litigation with the complex, new management has taken over the property.
Stewart Beal and his company Beal Properties LLC, have returned to the role of property management at Arbor One.
Beal said drove down to the Arbor One office on Feb. 1 and asked what he could do to help. Within a few days, he was on board.
Beal's company formerly served as management for Arbor One in 2018. He admitted the property had similar issues and complaints from tenants and the owner lost control of the property.
Former Arbor One resident and senior at Eastern Michigan University, K.R, took notice of issues with then-management right away.
“I remember getting there excited to see my new place," K.R. said. "There was no apartment to even tour, we just signed paperwork and left.”
She noted it was a “difficult” move-in process, receiving no call-backs, information, or communication from management, a theme that would continue throughout most residents’ lease.
Within her first two months, K.R. began to place bowls across the bathroom tile to catch water from burst pipes, then the heat and AC system broke, and then it was the kitchen sink and dishwasher. Maintenance requests about these issues remained unanswered for months, K.R. said.
In early 2024, the upper two floors of K.B.’s building caught fire, trickling down an extensive list of damages to the floors below — a substantial amount of smoke, water, and structural damage that resulted in DTE cutting off power to the building, leaving the residents of nearly 24 units with nowhere to go.
“I woke up to people yelling, ‘Fire!’ outside of my window,” K.B. said. "People were outside screaming and banging on walls and windows to get people out."
Watching her building become swallowed by flames, K.B. and her roommate stood alongside their fellow residents, all displaced in the -20 F February winter. There was official report of what caused the fire but K.B. recalled overhearing her neighbor whose unit caught on fire in distress earlier that night.
"I heard my neighbor crying upstairs," K.B. said "There was talk of unresolved electrical issue complaints in her unit and she was crying."
After experiencing mold-covered walls and broken windows neglected by maintenance through the cold, winter months, another former tenant, R.B., said she was court-ordered to move out of her unit.
With insufficient time, R.B. found management had locked her out of her unit containing her belongings. Upon regaining access, R.B. returned to a “completely ransacked” apartment, which she said was absent of several of her valuable belongings. She added that management entering units without permission was not uncommon.
Upon arrival of her new court ordered unit, R.B detailed the place as “filled with roaches, leaking water, bad electrical issues, and faulty heat and air systems — which eventually flooded.”
The city of Ypsilanti and Washtenaw county are working in tandem to aid tenants in learning and utilizing their rights and to help come to a solution for residents at the Arbor One apartment and townhomes complex.
Since joining as property manager of Arbor One, Beal has already taken significant strides to prompt change at the property.
Upon reaching agreement with the ownership and ensuring their response to the project was on par with his plans, he was able to secure at least a million dollars to begin improving the property.
”It’s a completely new team and management,” Beal said. "[It's] stronger, more robust. We went from 6 team members to 24."
The team is currently working to improve the quality of living for the tenants, reportedly having already completed around 250 maintenance requests over the past two weeks and renewing 40 leases at the property.
They are currently working with the city of Ypsilanti to inspect each of the property’s buildings to reinstate or renew code compliances, ensuring the quality for tenants. The process will focus on inspecting one building a week for the next ten weeks.
“We’ve been working away,” Beal said. "There’s a list of over 10,000 items long, ranging from simple tasks like replacing batteries in smoke detectors to more complicated issues, like replacing and rebuilding ceilings in units.”
Beal is looking forward to turning over a new leaf for the complex.
“We’re gonna encourage people to rent as soon as we get the certificate of occupancy from the city,” Beal said. “Give us a shot. We want people to have a safe, comfortable living space.”
