Hunter Properties’ tenants forming tenant association, inviting others to meet Wednesday

DeKALB – When James West moved to DeKalb in 2016 to study at Northern Illinois University, he just wanted a cheap apartment near campus.

Three years later, West said he’s fed up with the living conditions in his third-floor apartment in Hunter Ridgebrook apartments. He’s now trying to organize other tenants in buildings owned by Evanston-based Hunter Properties Management to form a tenant association.

Hunter Properties, which oversees the operation of more than 900 residential units within the city, purchased West’s complex, among others, in 2017 for $30 million. West said he hopes others will come forward despite fear of retaliation.

“I would want them to know that it’s going to be OK, and that we have people [at the meeting] that are going to be there to help explain their rights so [tenants] don’t need to feel threatened, bullied or intimidated in any sort,” West said.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Fanatico, 1215 Blackhawk Drive, and is free and open to the public.

Hunter Properties buildings have been the subject of over 400 city code violations, City Manager Bill Nicklas said. Nicklas plans to attend the meeting along with DeKalb police Cmdr. Craig Woodruff and attorney Joe Lovelace, who is part of NIU’s student services’ legal team.

“[The city of DeKalb] is going as interested observers,” Nicklas said. “We understand that some of the tenants have property maintenance concerns, so we will be there to answer questions about the legal processes we have to follow in the form of complaints, or if necessary, court action.”

Nicklas said, as of Tuesday, Hunter Properties is involved in 414 cases regarding code violations, which are expected to go to a trial.

Hunter Properties also has been assessed $105,376 in fines for violations which have already been prosecuted. Nicklas said Hunter has appealed the fines.

Lawyer Clay Campbell, who represents Hunter Properties, said in an email that his client has been unfairly targeted.

“Hunter Properties Management and other commercial entities within the city of DeKalb have for years been the victim of the city’s arbitrary and unfair enforcement of its municipal codes,” Campbell said. “This capricious and autocratic behavior on the part of city officials has led to a decline in economic activity in the area.”

The city’s Building and Code Compliance Division is run by Chief Building Official Thaddeus Mack and Police Chief Gene Lowery, Nicklas said, whether it’s for rental, single-family, or commercial complaints.

“It’s something that’s interesting to us, and we want to be helpful to people who are looking to help themselves in responsible ways,” Nicklas said.

West said the tone for his stay at the Ridgebrook complex was set from the day he moved in when someone stole his belongings.

“I had one of my boxes holding up one of the doors, because we were constantly going in and out,” West said. “Someone took [the box]. It was all my CD collection. It destroyed me.”

West said the complex’s security gates don’t work, making the complex accessible to anyone. West said the front doors of his building aren’t secure, although they only should be accessible by keycard.

West called DeKalb police, who went with him to the management office to see if they could access security camera footage.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, we could, but the cameras don’t work,’ and I asked what they meant, and they said ‘We recently changed [management staff], and we don’t know the password anymore, and the guy who did know the password isn’t around anymore,’” West said. “They were kind of giving me this runaround.”

In the three years West has lived in his apartment at Ridgebrook, he said he’s witnessed maintenance issues, a delayed upkeep of the property, and said Hunter Properties management staff are not very receptive. West said he has a 120-pound German shepherd which makes it hard to move because many landlords don’t allow dogs of a certain size or breed.

“There’s a leak in the hallway every time it rains, whole floors without carpet, holes in the wall, windows boarded up for two months,” West said. “I don’t know when the window shattered, but it took them three days to clean up the glass, because of course it did. They left it wide-open and didn’t put anything in there for about a week. Then they finally put a board on it. That’s going to be there for who knows how long.”

Residents also are forming a tenant association Facebook group.