Complex still squalid after feds paid millions for rehab, Rubio says. He wants audit.

Sen. Marco Rubio is calling for a financial audit of the owners of the Glorieta Gardens apartments, following a Herald investigation that found the conditions at the subsidized, low-income housing complex had worsened following a multimillion-dollar rehab.

Rubio asked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday to audit Glorieta Partners, the partnership that owns Glorieta Gardens, and its contractors, “to ensure federal tax dollars were used as intended in the rehabilitation and management of Glorieta Gardens,” he wrote.

“Over the course of multiple visits, Senator Rubio’s staff saw firsthand the slum-like living conditions of residents, which included layers of mold coating walls, sewage leaking into kitchens, and corroded pipes,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The senator is committed to ensuring that tenants of Glorieta Gardens live in safe and sanitary conditions.”

The federal government subsidizes the Gardens’ 328 apartments through its Section 8 housing assistance program. In 2015, the Herald reported, Glorieta Partners received $24 million in tax-exempt bonds for the stated purpose of buying and renovating Glorieta Gardens. Glorieta Partners bought the complex from Creative Choice Group, owned by real estate developer Dilip Barot, for $20.3 million; the partnership consists of a company managed by Barot’s wife and the nonprofit New Vision Housing Foundation, which shares the address of Barot’s company.

Glorieta Partners is also receiving $15.5 million in federal tax credits for low-income housing renovations from the state, though the credits have not yet been distributed.

New Vision Housing Foundation, the majority owner of the apartment complex, said it has been responsive to tenants’ ongoing concerns about their living conditions in the aftermath of the rehab project.

“We are taking prompt action to address concerns or complaints regarding water intrusion, mold or any other issue that is brought to our attention,” New Vision’s asset manager, Jeff Staley, told the Miami Herald.

“We will also communicate directly with Senator Rubio’s office and invite his staff to meet with us regarding any concerns they have,” he said. “It is our intent to insure that any post-rehab issues are addressed as quickly as possible.”

Staff from Rubio’s office visited Glorieta Gardens, located in two sections on Alexandria Drive and Northwest 30th Avenue off Opa-locka Boulevard, after the Herald reported last week that widespread mold, roach, sewage and flooding issues persisted even after the rehab.

“Tenants reported that they received appliances that do not work, experienced instances where their walls were painted to cover rust and mold, and experience constant flooding,” Rubio’s letter to HUD and the IRS said. “Tenants were assured by management that a ‘state-of-the-art security camera system’ would be installed, however, no such security system is believed to be present on the property, while violent crime and drive-by shootings remain prevalent.”

Federal regulations require housing complexes like Glorieta Gardens to be decent, safe, sanitary, in good repair and free of health and safety hazards.

The property’s latest renovation work was marked as completed on Feb. 19, 2018, a status report shows, but just three months later, on May 24, the complex failed a federal inspection with a score of 58, two points below the passing score. The owners appealed and received a barely passing score of 67 out of 100 points.

“They made it look pretty with a little paint,” said Talisa Hamilton, 54, who has lived at the Gardens for 24 years. “This was not a multimillion-dollar job.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 5:24 PM.