The Powell-based company plans to renovate viable structures that remain and construct new units, Grauwelman said.
This project supports economic development and creates new housing, but it also addresses a major safety issue, said Montgomery County Treasurer John McManus.
“These folks in Trotwood are living next to this thing, and it poses a real hazard to the community,” McManus said.
Windsor Companies last fall spent $3.2 million to acquire the Woodland Hills apartments, according to Montgomery County Auditor records.
The 430-unit apartment complex was hit hard by the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes, and multiple apartment buildings have caught fire since then.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The property has been vacant since the storm.
The city of Trotwood in early 2022 sued the former property owner, Woodland Hills Associates LLC, and other parties, claiming the apartment property was not maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.
Trotwood officials said the property is a nuisance and called for the buildings to be torn down for the sake of public safety.
“The Woodland Hills apartment community was one of the largest in Trotwood and it was a direct hit by the tornado in 2019, resulting in complete devastation of the complex,” said Chad Downing, director of the Trotwood Community Improvement Corporation. “Throughout the recovery process, the prior owners didn’t take advantage of some of the resources available to them and had no intention of redeveloping the property, which is why the city pursued the nuisance lawsuit.”
The city’s lawsuit was stayed in September.
“We want to give the new owners time to begin to meet some of that (nuisance abatement) criteria and demonstrate their commitment to the property,” Downing said, adding that Windsor Companies has already begun to do so, initiating clean-up efforts, along with securing the site and preparing it for redevelopment. “In just a few months, they’ve already begun doing the things we were asking the prior owners to do for four years.”
Downing said this redevelopment project is just one part of the city’s ongoing effort to recover some of the population lost after a significant number of apartments were left damaged or destroyed by the 2019 tornadoes.
Three miles south of the Woodland Hills site, three new housing complexes are planned for a 19-acre site near the corner of East Main Street and Olive Road.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make this something that residents can feel excited about,” Downing said. “Hopefully, we can attract more people to the community and continue our forward momentum.”
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office and the county treasurer’s office plan to give a combined $1 million to Windsor Companies to help with demolition at the Woodland Hills property.
The Montgomery County Land Bank will administer the funds, which are delinquent tax collection revenues from those offices that can be used for demolition activities, said Mike Grauwelman, executive director of the Montgomery County Land Bank.
The land bank was asked to administer the funds and provide a grant to the development, he said.
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