Judge orders apartment complex repaired after I-Team investigation into conditions

DECATUR, Ga. - Living in deplorable housing conditions has become a growing problem in Georgia. A three-month FOX 5 I-Team investigation led housing inspectors to a DeKalb County apartment complex called Woodridge where it was cited over shocking living conditions. We were there when the case went to court and a judge heard about what we saw.

Back in July, raw sewage filled a unit's bathtub when the toilet flushed. It flooded in when then-resident Vartavius Thorpe’s young son was bathing. The stench coming from open windows in other buildings could make any passerby gag.

In magistrate court, attorney Linda Dunlavy said her clients had gotten to work on the fixes prior to their court appearance.

"They have arranged with a contractor to jet these sewer plumbing lines - these sewer lines on a quarterly basis. There are no active back-ups at this point in time," she said in early December. 

When the FOX 5 I-Team visited the property this summer off of Panthersville Road, we saw sludge dripping from a porch. We saw a unit with severe water damage. We saw trash piled up. There were so many issues DeKalb County code enforcement officers eventually cited property management 30 times for the living conditions. 

The Woodridge Apartment's attorney told the judge the ownership is new and had inherited what she called "challenges."

"I think it’s important to know that Woodridge only came into title on this property less than a year ago," Dunlavy reported. 

But tenants told us back in July that they had been complaining for some time to prior management, current management, and anybody who would listen.

"I’ve been complaining since I been here," Thorpe told us. "Three years." 

The FOX 5 I-Team told Woodridge management over the summer that tenants were living in trouble conditions. In October, we emailed the owners, Sundance Bay Income & Growth, a private equity fund in Utah. We called that same team in November. Nothing.

Three months after we pointed out the issues, the county still found the living conditions terrible.

Judge DeNorris Heard seemed pleased with the repair process prior to coming to court, but acknowledged there's still much to do. 

"It sounds like you have a long laundry list to get done," he said. 

The Woodridge team will be back in court on Feb. 28 to show its progress. 

We wondered how this community's infrastructure could devolve this way, so we asked one more time as the Woodridge Apartment team left for their cars if we could get a comment. Dunlavy curtly answered, "No you cannot get a comment."