Apartments in Pierce County have been unsafe for years. Why do people still live there?
An eight-unit L-shaped apartment building in Lakewood has been a source of concern for the city’s rental housing plans for years. A news forum investigation found that while the building owners of Melody Apartments have not yet done the necessary repairs, while city staff declared the units occupied, a small number of residents still live there.
According to New York City, after the 2020 fire, it was on 115th Street, Ct. Half of the units were damaged, and the property owner made many repairs without the need for the necessary permission. Not only does this cause headaches in the city, but it also serves low-income tenants living there, leaking windows, electrical problems, plumbing problems and rotting railings.
As of February 27, New York City believed the building had many violations of the “illegal rent” and “illegal occupation” melodic apartments, according to public records obtained by the News Tribune.
The property has been under an emission reduction order since November 22, 2022, meaning tenants cannot occupy the building. The order also requires repairs or demolishing certain parts of the property by January 30, 2023.
Despite these orders, at least five units have been occupied for several months as of last month.
Meosha Turner is the program manager for Matthew House, a permanent support nonprofit that helps families get rid of homelessness and find greater stability in their lives. Turner told News Tribune on March 11 at the News Tribune on March 11 that Lakewood 17 LLC/SAGE Investment Group LLC rented eight units to Matthew in August 2024. Turner said Matthew's House House was not aware that the building had pressed for emission reduction and had many problems. She said low-income families who are now hoping to stabilize at Melody Apartments are forced to move again.
Turner has lived in a unit on site until last month. She said city officials had known about the complex for years but did not hold the property owner accountable for violations of housing. Turner also accused staff of the rental housing safety program of staff entering the resident’s units multiple times without permission, including her own unit when she fell asleep.
On Wednesday, the city denied allegations that inspectors entered the unit without permission and said the city issued a 48-hour notice before the inspection as required by law. Spokesman Brynn Grimley said Matthew's House staff denied entering the city three times in February and March.
Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC told News Tribune via email Thursday that Matthew House of Matthew said it would surrender all eight units from April 11 to April 11. A representative for the company said the tenants did not provide relocation assistance.
Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer records show that the property was sold by Lakewood Community Group LLC to Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC on September 10, 2021 for $1,577,662. The city said the sale occurred when Lakewood Community Group LLC “repairs fire and water damage without any permission or inspection.”
According to public records, despite the city’s cessation of work order issued on April 7, 2022, the property’s extensive unoperated and unattractive work has continued on the property for many years. According to city records, the city was considered “non-compliant” property in September 2022.
“This is the city’s understanding that the property is vacant from September 2022 [Rental Housing Safety Program] Through the emission reduction process until sometime in December 2024,” Grimley said on March 21. [the] Exact dates The property is uninhabitable as the property is still a non-compliant lease property through RHSP and the emission reduction order remains. Although we do not have documents that property owners do not meet uniformity and are unwilling to share information, we believe that property owners/manager Sage leased the property to Matthew House during this time, which is when Matthew House may have been in illegally entertaining tenants. ”
Representatives at Matthew House did not respond to the allegation. Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC said via email Thursday that Matthew Home accepted the property status before sublease to the tenant and did not receive permission to legally rent the unit to the tenant.
On March 26, in an email to the city’s property owner and home, City Housing Manager Jeff Gumm said Matthew’s home still needs a commercial license to go to Lakewood’s rental housing security program.
Sage Investment Group said in a March 26 email statement to News Tribune that it is committed to ensuring the safety and legal compliance of all its properties. The company said a representative at Matthew House denied entering the city inspector at least twice: “When the leaseholder blocks them, our team cannot reasonably ensure the safety and compliance of our property, which ultimately puts tenants at risk.”
“Over the past few months, we have worked closely with the City of Lakewood and the nonprofit Matthew Home to arrange necessary inspections of the melody…it is currently fully leased to the Matthew home,” Sage Investment Group said. “Yesterday, yesterday, March 25, 2025, the City of Lakewood was able to successfully inspect the property. We are eagerly awaiting the full list of repairs required and look forward to completing them in time. We are working fully with the City of Lakewood and thanking them for their support and collaboration to ensure they work together and collaborate in collaboration and collaboration. The best suits the tenants for the melody.”
Asked why Lakewood 17 LLC rents units to tenants and tenants in melody apartments, although the city knew the unit was not compliant, Grimley said: “We rely on private property owners to be responsible owners and comply with the law. When the complaint was issued, two occupants living in the building were hired, who resided in the ruler, who was unified by the orders because they were once rulers. They were pointed to the property owner/manager.
In an email Thursday, a representative of Lakewood 17 LLC/SAGE Investment Group LLC said in a response: “The tenant is responsible for maintaining the property and notifying the owner/landlord/real estate manager of any major issues that require repair or replacement. Matthew House owns the property, owns the property, allows all owners to access and is necessary to access all owners, and allows access to the scope of the company, and allows the scope of the company, and allows the scope of the company, and allows the scope of the property to be different.
Turner told the News Tribune during a trip to the property on March 24 that tenants filed maintenance requests that are often overlooked or ignored by the property owner.
What does the recent inspection report say?
The property was recently inspected by New York City on March 25. According to the inspection report, each unit failed the inspection, as did shared laundry and other areas.
City staff pointed out that four units do not have heaters running and at least one unit does not have hot water running, which is considered to require “immediate repair”. The sinks of three units were not drained properly, one had exposed wires in the bathroom, one had no CO2/smoke detectors, the other had lost locks on its windows, and the washer in the laundry room was found not working properly, leaking water into the walls, floors and nearby apartments. These items are considered “life safety” repairs and need to be completed within 10 days.
“There are still many items to be addressed, but there is no level of unsafe conditions that require closure of a building. That is, the unit needs to comply with our rental code, or the property will not be able to obtain a compliance certificate. Without a compliance certificate, the rent cannot continue to operate. The room for the city can be restored. In particular, we must balance the understanding of enforcing the law, which provides the necessary affordable housing for those who find housing elsewhere to ensure that the tenants of the property have a secure unit without biosecurity issues.”
“The owners were not aware of the condition of the property until the recent inspection on March 25,” a Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC representative was asked in an email Thursday why the repair was not conducted.
As News Tribune previously reported, Kirkland-based Sage Investment Group LLC has recently purchased a number of other buildings in Tacoma, Favre, Olympia and Centralia. The company bought several hotels on South Hosmer Street last year, and in addition to other hotels in Fife and more in Lewis County.
Public records show that the city is aware that Lakewood 17 LLC/SAGE Investment Group LLC continues to carry out extensive unoperated and unmanipulated work in Melody Apartments under the New York City’s November 2022 emission reduction order, guards, drywall replacements, pipes, mechanical and electric retouching, and extensive interior retouching of multiple units.
In September 2022, the city issued a notice of violations on the property’s rental housing safety plan, prohibiting the building from being legally occupied or rented, and requiring Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC to relocate assistance to tenants under state law. According to public records, the News Tribune received receipts that property owners paid at least $11,000 in relocation assistance to these tenants in October 2022.
Grimley said Melody Apartment passed all buildings and had a permit inspection in July 2024, but the building was finalized in September 2024.
“People’s lives are unresolved”
Turner said the past few months since House of Matthew discovered that the emission reduction orders and non-compliance were issued, which has abandoned the lives of Melody Apartments tenants.
“Where is supervision and where is accountability?” Turner said. “People’s lives are in danger.”
Turner said all tenants living there are low-income, some speak limited English and have not been discriminated against and faced before. She said the Matthew House currently has a waiting list of 200 people, affordable housing. Without stronger protection and strong punishment for landlords, Turner said, “this will lead to more homeless people, which will lead to more landlord tenant problems.”
Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC blamed Matthew's refusal to work with the owners and the city to conduct inspections and complete repairs.
Turner said Matthew House returned to homeless people relatively low after discovering its planned housing and stability. She said some tenants expected to live in Melody Apartments for a while, but now they have to figure out other places to live.
“This has to be handled so that we can actively help and interact with others along with our case management,” Turner said. “So they affect not only people here, but people who are not even here.”
