Missing windows. Leaking pipes. Open sewage. Collapsed ceilings. No hot water.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and West Mifflin officials on Friday toured Mon View Apartments to assess conditions at the housing complex days after nuisance-related charges were filed against the company that owns it.
The complex, which has failed repeated inspections, is infested with raccoons, skunks, bedbugs, roaches and mold, residents and officials said.
“It’s just wrong,” Zappala said Friday during a news conference outside the complex. “We’re talking about human lives here … it’s a shame.”
The complaint filed Monday charged Mon View Apts LLC criminally with creating a public nuisance and sewage violations.
Zappala’s office also executed two search warrants in connection with the complaint — one on-site and one in the Hill District. Zappala did not elaborate on the latter warrant.
He said the law lets him as district attorney address “intangible loss suffered from lack of safe and decent housing” on behalf of victims.
According to Allegheny County property records, Mon View Apts LLC purchased the 326-unit Midway Drive property in December 2022 for $17 million.
Since then, the district attorney’s office said, the company has failed to rectify “despicable” and “dangerous” conditions and make the necessary improvements to pass inspection.
Currently, 79 units are vacant and cannot be occupied. About 250 families live in the complex, which is subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Zappala said.
“We do know who the individuals are who own the LLC,” Zappala said. “I have not charged them yet because I have not had the chance to sit down and talk to them to see what they’re inclined to do to make the situation right.”
Zappala said the owners are based in New Jersey. He refused to name them since they haven’t been individually charged.
“I’m hopeful that not charging the owners at this point, they’re going to come to the table, and they’re going to do the right thing,” he said.
Unpaid bills, crime, sewage
Of 129 units inspected over the summer, 96 failed, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators met with Winn Residential Property Management, whose representatives told investigators that they had assumed oversight of the complex in August.
“They’re good people,” Zappala said. “You can only do so much, but you need the owner to give you the money to take care of business, and that has not been done.”
One Winn Residential employee told the DA’s office that the company had discovered numerous unpaid bills from vendors and did not have the money to fix problems in the units, according to the complaint.
According to West Mifflin police, the department has responded to 502 calls for service in the complex in the last six months, which included 31 domestic disputes, 12 shots fired calls and 24 welfare checks.
On Tuesday, Allegheny County police were called to a homicide at the complex. Nathaniel Walker, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police reported on Sept. 9 that raw sewage was leaking out of one building into a parking lot.
Zappala said West Mifflin Police Chief Gregory McCulloch called the Allegheny Health Department on Sept. 9 regarding the sewage, and he hasn’t gotten a return call as of Friday.
“That’s unacceptable,” Zappala said.
Finances amiss
Rent for Mon View apartments ranges from $900 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,450 for a four-bedroom, according to Zappala.
One-third of the rent comes from residents, and the rest comes from HUD, totaling roughly $230,000 a month.
Mon View Apts LLC’s checks started to bounce in July, according to Zappala.
“There’s no money in the accounts,” he said.
Zappala said the search warrants revealed that Mon View’s owners did not use their HUD payments at the complex.
“It’s almost as if the owners of this property want it to fail,” he said.
“When someone qualifies for a HUD subsidy … that’s their money, and it was given to them for the purpose of safe and decent housing,” he said. “They’re being denied that.”
The DA said he will ask a judge for permission to direct the HUD subsidy to the county sheriff’s office for use to remedy health issues at the complex.
“(The) owners aren’t going to get paid anymore if I have my way,” Zappala said.
Health concerns
Zappala said he’s never seen living conditions conditions as dire as those at Mon View.
A bus stop on the property, where both school buses and Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses arrive, is the “hub” of the complex, according to Zappala — the site of an open manhole where raw sewage has been running into the street.
“The day that we were out here, there was running sewage into the street,” Zappala said, referring to a site visit on Sept. 20. “There’s potholes right in front of the bus stop that actually accumulated sewage, and these kids are standing there waiting to catch a bus.”
Mon View includes a playground, basketball court and ball field, but they’re overgrown and practically unusable.
Next steps
Zappala said it’s unclear whether any buildings will need to be demolished.
Moving forward, Zappala said, he’s optimistic for Mon View, but he needs a judge’s help.
“I don’t have any intention to demolish anything or evict anyone,” he said. “This is their home, and we’re going to protect their home.”
Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania. A Murrysville native, she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State. She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com.