Apartment City

A building at Woodcreek Apartments in Ypsilanti Township remains abandoned as the management and insurance company settle a dispute over the insurance settlement. Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com An eight-unit, burned-out apartment building in the Woodcreek Apartments off East Forest Avenue continues sitting vacant after a Molotov cocktail attack damaged it in a July 10 arson. A building left vacant with no timetable for demolition or repair is rare in Ypsilanti Township , where officials are tenacious in their efforts to quickly address blight . But this time, the township is caught in the middle of a settlement dispute between an insurance adjuster, Woodcreek management and the building's insurer. Also at stake is $120,000 in insurance money. The insurance adjuster, Craig Trombley of American Adjusters, was hired by Woodreek's owner, Ken Sharrock . Trombley is paid a percentage of the $120,000. The two accuse an Ypsilanti Township building official of putting residen...

Federal investigators said they found a disconnected vent pipe in the basement room where natural gas built up before a lethal explosion last year at a Silver Spring apartment complex . They have not determined when the pipe was disconnected, why or who did it, but the disconnect would have bypassed a safety feature meant to vent gas from the basement room of the building to the exterior, investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in a preliminary report on the Aug. 10, 2016, explosion that killed seven people, injured more than 30 and left more than 100 homeless. “The person who disconnected the vent pipe, as well as his/her intentions in doing so, are as of yet to be determined,” investigators wrote in a preliminary report that was made public Tuesday . ATF investigators, who are working with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of the incident, said that the cause of the explosion and fire that followed are undete...

A fire that consumed the entire building of 900 Ashwood Apartments , which was destroyed, left all of the building's 20 residents unscathed and safe, Columbia Fire Battalion Chief Steven Sapp said. The fire started around 6 p.m., but Sapp said the fire department had not yet identified the cause of the fire. "We're still mopping up the hot spots," he said. Two firefighters were taken to the burn center at University Hospital. Both firefighters have since been released. Other damages included burns to two vehicles and substantial damage to a fire vehicle. Sapp said the majority of the residents have found temporary housing with family or friends. Those who could not find housing received vouchers for hotels from the American Red Cross . The American Red Cross also helped residents obtain necessities and clothing. "They lost not only the building, but all it's contents," Sapp said. "Many students lost books and notes." Sapp said he was u...

Kansas City firefighters now take two simple safety steps that might have saved the lives of two colleagues in a 2015 building collapse . The steps were among the recommendations in a federal report released Thursday . Emergency tones are sounded, as they were two years ago, when firefighters are ordered out of a collapse zone. But now heads are counted to make sure everyone got the message — which was not done before. Fire Chief Paul Berardi acknowledged those steps might have saved the lives of John Mesh and Larry Leggio, who perished at a fire scene on Independence Boulevard. The federal report cites a series of operational failures that contributed to the firefighters’ deaths. The report said the two men should not have been in an alley next to the three-story building after all personnel were directed to pull back because of fears the walls would collapse. Six minutes after that order was given, they died in an avalanche of bricks. Poor communication and the failure to establi...

Maintenance problems abounded. Mr. Hunt used a pan to collect the rainwater dripping through the ceiling, graduated to a bucket and, when that proved insufficient, a trash can. Last winter, some of his favorite shirts were soaked by rainwater. “It was imperative for my sanity to move,” he said. Photo LONG ISLAND CIT Y Along the waterfront on Center Boulevard, the many rental buildings were new, but not new enough. Credit Sasha Maslov for The New York Times He envisioned his new place as airy and clean, but also warm and inviting. “Telling a real estate agent your vision is not as clear as making a list,” he said. So he made one, including light, views and a rent of around $2,000 a month for a studio or one-bedroom. Using five apps — StreetEasy, Trulia, PadMapper, Naked Apartments and Zumper — he went to work. “I felt frantic about it,” he said. He contacted every agent who seemed to have a suitable listing. “The idea was zero fidelity.” He planned to remain in Greenpoint. But the fe...

The working title was fittingly “Group Therapy.” Perhaps in a bid to throw rabid superhero fans off the trail, signs posted on streets denoting work on Marvel’s latest series, “The Defenders,” carried the fake moniker. The series, which was shot last winter and debuted Friday on Netflix, unites all of the heroes from the platform’s existing Marvel shows into one superteam. And in true Marvel fashion , the teammates do not always get along, occasionally bickering like Washington politicians — hence the winking “Group Therapy” title. Through the eight episodes, Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Iron Fist (Finn Jones) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox) do cooperate long enough to take on a villainous group menacing New York City: the mystical ninja order known as the Hand, led by Sigourney Weaver. As with previous Marvel shows , New York is front and center. Jeph Loeb, head of Marvel television, has said that the city is so important to the atmosphere of the shows, it...

WASHINGTON — A vent pipe was found disconnected in the meter room where federal investigators believe the natural gas explosion that killed seven people last summer originated. Although the cause of the Aug. 1, 2016 Silver Spring explosion remains undetermined , a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives report states that the origin of the blast was a basement room that housed a water heater and gas meters in one of the Flower Branch Apartments buildings . Inside that meter room, investigators found a three- part union vent pipe that had been disconnected before the blast. Investigators said the purpose of the pipe was to release gas outside the building in the event a gas regulator failed . But because the pipe was disconnected, if the regulator had failed, gas would have leaked into the meter room and could have been ignited by the flame on the hot water heater . In the report, investigators say they are certain that the disaster was caused by an explosion followed b...

Once Jaz Cameron gets his hands on it, a dirty old cardboard box isn ’t a dirty old cardboard box anymore . It’s potential. Cameron snatches up any old cast-off box he can find, carefully takes it apart, lays it flat and begins painting on it. The other day he found a box outside a body shop that once held a car bumper and a smaller box outside an adult novelty shop that once held, well, adult novelties. Cameron did what he does with most scrap cardboard he comes across. He began painting large , sweeping pastel designs on it. It’s not only art, he said, it’s therapy. Cameron is a 41-year-old part-time bootblack who was one of three people flung into the street and injured last year when a taxi slammed into a Market Street shoeshine stand . Painting on scrap cardboard helps him feel better, he said, even if sidewalk art pays even less than sidewalk shoeshining. In recent days, the street artist has been working on the sidewalk next to the Old Mint at Fifth and Mission streets. “I...

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The preliminary report has been released for an explosion and fire that killed seven and injured dozens last year at a Silver Spring apartment . Some questions now have answers, but a big question still remains. One year ago, an explosion and fire blasted apart the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring. Firefighters managed to rescue some trapped by the flames, and rushed three dozen injured to area hospitals, but seven residents were killed when a large section of the building gave way beneath their feet: “Ah, it just collapsed man. There was no getting out of that,” one witness said. Last November, survivors filed lawsuits to, as one lawyer put it,”finally give us a straight answer to this tragedy.” ATF and NTSB investigators are still seeking a definitive cause, but a preliminary report makes some findings. Investigators say no gasoline was spread inside the building, and there was no drug lab that could have caused a blast. Natural gas odor was reported s...

DECATUR, GA -- The Decatur Housing Authority (DHA) will hold a Grand Opening Ceremony for Phases I and II of Trinity Walk, the exciting redevelopment of the former Gateway Manor and Oakview apartments in downtown Decatur, near Atlanta.  The new, affordable apartment community at 421 West Trinity Place is fully occupied and now boasts 121 one, two and three- bedroom energy - efficient apartment flats and townhomes in six contemporary, three-story buildings.  Thirty-two of the apartments were created for the elderly and/or disabled, while the remaining 89 units were designed for families.  The Grand Opening will be held at Trinity Walk on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m.  Invited guests include Decatur ’s Mayor and City Council, HUD officials, DHA staff project investors and partners and Trinity Walk residents , who worked with DHA, HUD and the City of Decatur to create a unique revitalization strategy for the redevelopment.“The former Gateway Manor development spanned two highly des...

At the five-unit condo at 3525 14th St. NW, a new development by Congressional Properties, units are priced from $599,900 to $649,900. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post) Home buyers always hope to purchase at the right moment in the housing market and in the right location, preferably one where new development will add value. Condominiums have been rising for years on streets near the Columbia Heights Metro station and the Georgia Avenue- Petworth Metro station , yet developers always seem to find new locations to squeeze in more. The five-unit condo at 3525 14th St. NW, a new development by Congressional Properties, was a small retail business on the ground floor with an apartment above, says Brian Athey, founder and president of Congressional Properties in Washington. “We like that location a lot because you can walk to Metro very easily and get to restaurants and shops, but the immediate area along 14th Street is still changing pretty quickly ,” Athey says. “We fee...

MURFREESBORO, TN (WSMV) - A suspect has been arrested and the victim identified following a murder early Tuesday at a Murfreesboro apartment complex . Christopher Turley, 23, was found shot to death about 5 a.m. at the Stonewood Apartments at 810 East Clark Boulevard . Police said 22-year-old Anthony P. Smith, of Christiana, was later arrested and booked at the Rutherford County Sheriff 's Office on a charge of first-degree murder. His bond was set at $500,000, and he is due in court April 24. A motive in the shooting has not been released. "We believe the center of the shooting occurred at the D building, whether that was inside or outside is still being looked into," said Murfreesboro police spokesman Sgt . Kyle Evans. Neighbors say Turley was shot multiple times , including possibly in the head. "We do believe we found the gun used in the fatal shooting," Evans said. "We're looking for other weapons. because if there is one gun, sometimes there are...

A mother and her two children are dead after a two- alarm apartment fire in Hillendale. Fire officials have identified the victims as Bra Angah-McCray, age 26, Aimee McCray, age 4, and Adriel McCray, age 3. All three victims lived in the apartment where the fire took place. A family gone after a fast moving fire in Baltimore Co. apartment. 2 kids, 3 & 4yo died. 16 misplaced. @ABC2NEWS pic.twitter.com/0S0G7YzY7k — Cassie Carlisle (@CassieABC2) August 21, 2017 First responding units found fire showing from the third floor of the apartment complex around 4:34 a.m. Sunday. Due to the time of the fire, responders feared people might be trapped inside the building. Two Towson engines entered the building to search for victims where they found the three victims in a bedroom unconscious in critical condition.  EMS and fire crews attempted to resuscitate the victims before they were transported to area hospitals. The mother and one child was transported to University of Maryland St. Jo...