DETROIT – Tenants at a luxury apartment complex on Detroit’s east side say they’ve dealt with broken elevators, inoperable entrance gates and a growing backlog of maintenance requests for weeks — prompting city inspectors to step in.
Residents at Orleans Landing, located near the Detroit River, reached out with concerns about ongoing issues at the property. The complaints included elevators being out of service for an extended period, security gates left open or not working, and a lack of communication from management.
“It’s very frustrating. I’ve been here since February, and it’s just been stacking up and stacking up,” one tenant explained.
Several residents said non-working elevators have been especially difficult at 205 Orleans, where some residents reported the elevator had been down for weeks. A tenant said she believed the outage lasted at least four weeks.
“We also have a couple of elderly people in the building that have a hard time getting up and down those stairs,” she said.
Residents also raised concerns about security around the complex. Another tenant, who asked not to be shown on camera, said the entrance gates have been left open and inoperable — and she believes it has contributed to crime on the property.
“My car has been broken into. To the point where now, I just would rather leave it unlocked with nothing in it,” the resident said.
A worker at the leasing office said the property manager was unavailable when asked for comment, but confirmed the elevators had been down. The worker estimated the elevator outage at about two weeks and said a vendor had been waiting on a part needed for the repair.
Arthur Rushin, Chief Enforcement Officer with the City of Detroit’s Building, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), said the city received its first complaint about the elevators last week.
“We sent an inspector out. He verified that the elevator was out, and then he wrote an emergency correction order,” Rushin said. “The compliance date is actually June 17. So, they were able to get it repaired today.”
Rushin also said the property’s certificate of compliance expired last month.
“Their certificate of compliance expired last month. So, they are going to get a ticket for being out of compliance,” he said.
By the time inspectors arrived on Monday, at least one elevator in the building appeared to be operating again.
Neighbors said they want clearer communication and more responsiveness from property managers — especially when issues impact safety and daily life.
“I love living here. But you’re letting everybody down, and now we are forced to speak on it to the masses, because you’ve stopped caring,” another resident said.
The property management company, Village Green, had not responded to a formal request for comment.
City inspectors say Detroit renters experiencing health or safety issues — especially when a landlord or property manager is unresponsive — can report problems to BSEED online at www.detroitmi.gov/bseed or by calling 313-628-2451.