Lantana Apartments

[mkjeeves]

If the City doesn't want to spend the money all at once to demo the place, then once a month or so, someone can set it ablaze, and the fire department can let it burn a little, and put it out... One building at a time, untill it's all reduced to ashes, then they haul off the rubble. .... ... Just think of it as an installment plan.

I've heard some fire departments will burn houses or buildings down for people who want them demolished for training. I imagine it depends on what's around them. There could be some tremendous liability if a fire got away from them.

This matches the names in the story for being the owners: Regatta Capital Group - Boutique Wealth Management

[mkjeeves]

On fire again this morning.

Abandoned apartments catch fire for the second night in a row

[David]

You know, I was joking previously but now I'm not so sure.

[ljbab728]

One step closer.

http://www.okc.gov/news/2015_10/Okla...partments.html

Oklahoma City Council approves contract to demolish part of Lantana Apartments

(Oct. 13, 2015) - The Oklahoma City Council voted Tuesday to approve a contract for demolishing several dilapidated buildings and remove debris at a northwest Oklahoma City apartment complex prone to fires and decay.

The Council voted to approve a $234,652 contract with K&M Dirt Services to demolish seven buildings at Lantana Apartments, 7408 NW 10. Several fires have caused severe damage, leaving many buildings at the apartment complex dilapidated and dangerous.

Repeated calls for firefighters and code enforcement have resulted in spiraling, unrecovered costs for the City. Code enforcement alone at the property has cost nearly $73,000 in the last seven years, recovering only about $41,600 in payments from the property owner.

Buildings, 7400, 7406, 7422, 7430, 7432, 743 and 7436 will be demolished.

[kevinpate]

Over several years, net costs to the city due to problems at the property seem to have come in about 32G.
So the solution is to spend 7 times that amount.
I am unclear if they are taking all of it to dirt or only burned structures to dirt, with some remaining, or at least perhaps remaining until a few more fires happen?

[Bullbear]

As they catch fire... show up and control the burn but let them burn to the ground. that might be cheaper..

[baralheia]

Looks like they're going ahead with demolition for 7 damaged buildings this week, according to the Oklahoman:
Derelict apartments demolition begins this week in northwest Oklahoma City | News OK

[ljbab728]

Sayonara to Lantana.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/548...rlyAccess=true

[mkjeeves]

Lantana has 15-20 buildings. They are tearing down 7.

[Tritone]

Slowly but surely...perhaps a lightning strike or two...or a meteor...or someone stealing a gas stove?

[warreng88]

OKC trying to catch up with problem properties

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record September 13, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY – For every abandoned building that’s cleared from the city’s list of problem properties, it seems like another two take its place, Development Services Director Bob Tener said.

Securing properties and demolishing those beyond help has cost the city $1.5 million over the last three fiscal years, Oklahoma City officials reported Tuesday. City Hall has been able to recover only $937,000 of that total.

As of the end of fiscal year 2015-2016 on June 30, a total of 639 buildings had been declared abandoned by the City Council. Tener was not able to provide a tally from previous years for comparison because the city only started keeping a running list a year ago.

But he said the list keeps growing. His staff is trying to find ways to slow the pace and make it easier for responsive property owners to untangle themselves from bureaucratic red tape. The latest efforts are taking the form of ordinances that would allow them to bypass the City Council on simple administration processes and establish a fee to offset staff costs involved in tracking and billing public safety expenses.

Those costs aren’t cheap either: Since the city started keeping track last year, there were 307 incidents at 87 properties that required a public safety response such as firefighters dealing with squatters arson. City staff has sent bills for a total of $89,000 in expenses and has collected only $6,000. The new ordinances are still being drafted and aren’t ready for City Council action yet.

City Hall officials thought they had a solution to the blight problem in 2013 when they created a registry to easily classify several thousand abandoned buildings for remediation. But local real estate agents took their concerns to state lawmakers at the Capitol, leading to pre-emptive legislation disallowing such a process.

By the end of 2014, the Oklahoma City Council directed Tener and his staff to tackle the issue from another angle – billing property owners for emergency response services – which has not received the same attention from the Legislature. Tener said the new ordinance is expected to be a significant cost-saver.

The most egregious property on the abandoned list is 7408 NW 10th St., the Lantana Apartments complex, which has cost the city $28,600 in public safety calls. A year ago, the City Council approved a contract worth $235,600 for demolishing several dilapidated buildings and removing debris at the site.

The second-most problematic property doesn’t even come close to Lantana: $6,300 in public safety calls for 1801 NW 14th St., followed by $5,200 for safety calls at 45 SE Grand Blvd.

[AP]

This is the damage that can be seen at Lantana from Maps:

[warreng88]

OKC agrees to redevelopment plan for Lantana Apartments

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record February 14, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY – The public nuisance that is the Lantana Apartments may soon be redeveloped by a third party, city officials said.

City Council members unanimously approved an economic development agreement Tuesday with Hartford at 10th LLC to make the abandoned complex accessible to tenants again, with construction to begin as early as March. Hartford proposed investing about $3.1 million in exchange for forgiveness of liens still owed to the city.

City Hall has repeatedly identified 7408 NW 10th St. as the most egregious offender on its abandoned properties list, costing $73,000 in code enforcement and city services since 2008. Although the current amount of liens on the property owed to the city total $262,835, with an additional $42,545 pending liens anticipated to be filed in the next six months, the city has struggled to recoup even a few hundred dollars from the absent owner.

According to Oklahoma County records, the complex is owned by AMG Riverton in El Segundo, California, which could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Hartford has requested that another limited liability corporation named BC56 finance a portion of the costs of capital improvements. In order to induce the lender to finance a portion of those costs, City Manager Jim Couch’s staff said the liens could be released just prior to the developer closing on the loan.

Oklahoma County Treasurer Forrest “Butch” Freeman said he would agree to decertify the city regarding the liens so that it can be added again to the ad valorem tax base to benefit public school districts and other taxing entities.

City Hall will discount and convert the remaining balance of the existing and pending liens into a $109,538 loan to the developer made through the Oklahoma City Economic Development Authority, effectively a second mortgage, Economic Development Project Manager Brent Bryant said. The agreement carries a provision that it may be forgiven if Hartford completes the redevelopment of the complex’s remaining 102 units by September 2018 with at least 25-percent occupancy.

Hartford officials could not be reached for comment.

[rezman]

So, will the remains of this complex be razed and a new complex be built, or will what's still standing be rehabbed ?. And will it again be section 8 housing where it will be trashed and become dilapidated once again?.

[Canoe]

The existing buildings are in rough shape and there are rumors of asbestos. If they try and rehab the existing buildings it should be a total gut job.

It would be unethical to leave something in place that could harm the tenants.

Edit: This deal doesn't pencil out. if you take the 3.1 Million and divide it by the remaining square footage then you get about $33/ft^2. Unless they have other funds available, I don't see how this project will be a successful one.

[bchris02]

Looks like a fire at the new, redeveloped Lantana Apartments.

http://www.news9.com/story/36600708/...fire-in-nw-okc

[LocoAko]

I know this isn't about the Lantana Apartments (wasn't sure where else to put this), but it looks as though the derelict apartments on the SE side of the I-44/NW 39th Expy junction have burned down.

[rezman]

That was originally a motel. I think it was the Suntide, that was turned into a women's work release center.

[Laramie]

There are a number of dilapidated structures like Lantana Apartments complex throughout OKC. These places need to be demolished--definitely a black eyesore & potential fire hazard as they become home for the vagrants and some homeless.





What next, do we need a 2020 one year extension initiative--MAPS for Dilapidation?

[warreng88]

Lantana Apartments ready for renters after redevelopment

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record January 10, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – A squatter magnet and fire trap will be open for walk-throughs this month after $2.3 million in redevelopment work, Hartford Rentals principal Justin Tabone said.

The Lantana Apartments, 7408 NW 10th St., have been one of Oklahoma City’s most costly derelict properties, costing $73,000 in code enforcement and city services since 2008. After firefighters put out yet another blaze at the complex in 2015, the Oklahoma City Council approved $235,000 to raze seven of the buildings and pass the cost to absent owners AMG Riverton in El Segundo, California.

When Colorado-based Hartford revealed intent to buy and redevelop the property last year, council members approved an agreement to help the company secure financing by releasing the liens just before closing on the loan. The Oklahoma County treasurer’s office also decertified the city’s position so that Lantana could be counted again as a contributing ad valorem tax base to benefit the public school district and other taxing entities.

City Hall discounted and converted the remaining balance of the existing and pending liens into a $109,538 loan to the developer made through the Oklahoma City Economic Development Authority, effectively creating a second mortgage. The agreement carried a provision that it could be forgiven if Hartford completes the redevelopment of the complex’s remaining 102 units by September 2018 with at least 25-percent occupancy.

That seems likely, as Tabone said the extensive refurbishment is 80 percent complete and the ownership group plans to start showing units to potential residents Monday. One-bedroom apartments will be priced at $550 per month; two bedrooms will rent for $650; and three bedrooms will cost $800.

“The property’s not done yet, but we do have a model set up so that people can walk through and see what it’s going to look like,” he said.

Economic Development Project Manager Brent Bryant said Wednesday he’s pleased the agreement worked out as planned. City Hall would rather see the community improved for residential use than leave a gap.

Tabone said Hartford Rentals intends to keep the property in its small portfolio of turnaround projects. The company was launched in 2010 with the acquisition of Aspen Way Apartments, 1000 NW 88th St. Redbud Landing Apartments, 403 Tinker Diagonal, was acquired in 2013 when it went into foreclosure. Each of them required extensive work to reopen, Tabone said.

The decision to hold Lantana doesn’t surprise broker David Dirkschneider at Price Edwards. A property with a history like Lantana’s needs to be proven a viable income-producer before it can be flipped for profit, he said.

“A lot of people look at that 10th Street corridor as a no-go,” Dirkschneider said. “They won’t buy it; they won’t touch it. They’ll steer clear because they think it’s just too far gone. But the right operator can do really well if they take care of the properties.

“There are a lot of people who grew up in that area, who have family in that area, and they want a nice place to live, too,” he said.

In 2008, a pizza deliveryman was lured to the vacant complex and shot to death, and city services have been called to the site for numerous problems including prostitution, drug deals and arson. Tabone said one of the biggest challenges in making the property marketable again has been dealing with years of bad history.

“You have a chicken-and-egg situation here,” he said. “Is it bad management that brings that type of traffic around? Or was that kind of traffic always there, making it difficult for management to deal with it?

“In our experience, if you have an improved product that’s well-managed and that people can take pride in, it typically mitigates a lot of those other circumstances,” Tabone said.