COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tenants continue to live at the Colonial Village apartments on Columbus’ east side, more than two years after the city declared the apartments a public nuisance. 

What You Need To Know

  • Colonial Village Apartments, on Rand Avenue in east Columbus, was declared a public nuisance in 2021 and since then has been deemed uninhabitable

  • Current Colonial Village tenants have until the end of the year to move out or they will be evicted

  • Saturday is the last day tenants can register for help with relocation services from the city

“The place was unsanitary,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said. “It was unsafe. It was a magnet for crime, and it really was a disservice to all of the families that were living there trying to go on with their lives. But the ownership group didn’t care.”

It was also deemed uninhabitable. Today, the complex looks empty, with doors covered in vacant signs, but hundreds of people continue to live in sub-standard and unsafe units.

The city’s department of building and zoning discovered the residents during a routine inspection. With only a few days left until everyone is expected to be out, code enforcement is there every day.

“So today is, is another day where code enforcement is coming through,” said Anthony Celebrezze, deputy director for the City of Columbus Building and Zoning Services Department. “They’ve got about 45 units that they are going to be inspecting to see if they’re vacant and then confirm that they are, then those units will be boarded up. If they are, if there are people still living in them and they have heat, they can stay until Saturday.”

The city blames the conditions on poor management.

“A rogue employee of one of the properties of the former property manager was allowing people to live in units that by court order by law were not allowed to be occupied, and they were taking rent payments from them to live in these units that are substandard, that didn’t have heat, didn’t have running water or a combination of such,” Klein said. “So we know from the city attorney’s office perspective immediately took action.”

Saturday is the last day for current tenants to register for relocation services provided by the city. If they don’t register, they will be evicted. 

“We’ve been working with a number of agencies, including Community Shelter Board, trying to help relocate folks from this, this troubled apartment complex,” Celebrezze said.

The future of Colonial Village right now is unclear, but the city attorney said there’s a lot of work to be done. 

“The Colonial Village has a lot of potential for it to be a place, especially in a market that has a lack of affordable housing and housing generally, to really be a great place for families to live. It’s not there now,” Klein said.