‘This is terrible:’ Residents call Westside apartment complex unsafe, parts of the building are condemned

Tiffany Salameh , News4JAX Consumer Investigative Reporter , Jacksonville

Tiffany Salameh , News4JAX Consumer Investigative Reporter , Jacksonville wrought iron staircase railing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents at Colonial Forest Apartments on the Westside say they feel unsafe living there.

Multiple stairways and patios have been condemned at the property on Firestone Road. One woman told News4JAX she nearly fell off her front porch because the patio floor caved in.

It’s the same company that owns Northwood Apartments off Dunn Avenue where we’ve told you that residents are dealing with similar issues.

Residents of Colonial Forest say their homes are literally falling apart. Danielle Quigley says two weeks ago, things could have been much worse, when her patio caved in.

“I was doing daily chores like normal. I went to dump water out of my trash can and my rail just gave way and I almost fell off the side,” Quigley said.

The outdoor stairs are unusable and condemned outside of her apartment and in surrounding buildings. There’s caution tape, and do not enter tape blocking the affected stairwells and Quigley’s patio.

Her neighbor, Naomi Stancle, said she was watching football when she heard screaming and ran outside to help.

“I came out and all this debris was down here. Her porch collapsed,” Stancle said. “She has asked them to repair it several times. With all the problems here they keep saying there’s ‘new management’ but I cannot access my back porch because the ceiling is going to fall. They just need to get it together.”

A few days after that incident, Stancle and Quigley said orange notices were posted, condemning the stairs and patios for the entire building.

Stancle said she is looking elsewhere to live after five years at Colonial Forest. She feels unsafe after her neighbor’s patio fell apart.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but they need to get it together because this is terrible,” Stancle said.

Monday morning crews from the fire department were on the property and it appeared they were surveying the building’s conditions.

Other problems on the property include trash piling up, pest problems, and a lack of attention from maintenance. Sonya Striglers showed us her kitchen ceiling that’s starting to cave in.

She said she’s worried about her children’s safety and wants to see something done about it.

“We put in our maintenance requests online and it’s unheard and we might not even see them for two or three months sometimes,” Striglers said.

Management on the property today referred the I-TEAM to call the private owner of the complex for comment. We’ve reached out to the private owner, Friedman Real Estate Group, for comment but we haven’t heard back.

The City’s Neighborhoods Department and JFRD are inspecting the property to determine the best course of action. Court records show that in the last few months, the complex has received at least five citations for issues including plumbing, a rat infestation, and broken doors.

Tiffany comes home to Jacksonville, FL from WBND in South Bend, Indiana. She went to Mandarin High School and UNF. Tiffany is a former WJXT intern, and is joining the team in 2023 as Consumer Investigative Reporter and member of the I-TEAM.

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