FORT MYERS — People living in a Fort Myers affordable housing complex say maintenance issues aren’t being taken care of.
People living at the Royal Palm Towers say water leaks have caused floor damage, but the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers says, it doesn’t have the money to fix it.
This building has been in downtown Fort Myers for decades, and it’s starting to show its age. People living there say the pipes are constantly breaking, and it became so bad that one man we spoke with had to change apartments.
Robert Bennett said, in his old apartment, water was constantly coming through the ceiling.
“I had a half a dozen floods within a two week period of time just recently, and the ceiling in the bathroom came down," said Bennett.
Bennett isn’t alone. We spoke with several people who live in the building who agree the facilities need an upgrade, but Housing Authority Executive Director Marcia Davis says, it’s too expensive.
“When you look at how to do all the needed capital repairs, it’s $10 million plus," said Davis.
That’s got people worried they might not have a home there much longer, but Housing Authority Commissioner Douglass Hogg said people have to be provided options.
“It’s against the law to just put people out in the streets, but you’ve got a lot of the residents are afraid that that’s what’s going to happen," said Hogg.
Hogg said the most likely outcome is that the Housing Authority will buy another property and build a new building, but people who live there say, if they have to move away from downtown, it could have a big impact on their lives.
“Publix is a mile down First Street. All these, all these things would be taken from us," said Jenna Satterfield, who lives at the Royal Palm.
That’s something Davis said she’s trying to accommodate.
“Hopefully, within a week, we’ll know if we have another site that is just as close to the amenities or not," said Davis.
Bennett said, any solution would be a good one at this point, but he would prefer to stay at the Royal Palm.
“I’ve been very happy here. A lot of us have. We’d miss it," said Bennett.
Davis said, she recently had a deal fall through with a property downtown that wanted $7 million to buy it. She said that was out of their price range, so she’s hoping the new property she has her eye on won’t be as expensive, and could soon become the new home for the people who live at the Royal Palm.
