In the ongoing legal battle between the City of Champaign and the troubled Champaign Park Apartments, the court recently ordered inspection of heating systems and that the owners pay utility bills.

Since 2022, various inspection issues and complaints against Champaign Park Apartments, which has housed hundreds of residents, have led to the condemnation of many unit and to the City of Champaign filing two separate lawsuits against the apartment complex.

At the end of 2022, 393 units across 35 buildings within the apartments were condemned. The apartment complex is located just off Springfield Avenue and Kenwood Road.

The apartment owner recently appeared in court on Dec. 11 and arguments continue on Thursday, Dec. 19.

Due to the condemnation and overall neglect from the property owner, the city government temporarily paid the cost of housing displaced residents, which estimated at over $250,000. The goal of the lawsuits are to ensure the apartment owners reimburse the city for damages and the displacement of residents. 

A review of filings in the Champaign County Court showed that on Nov. 1, the city agreed to an order specifying a number of actions to be taken by Michael Chetrit, the co-founder of New York-based Chetrit Ventures and owner of the Champaign Park Apartments under a limited liability company (LLC).

The property owner must provide tenant information, arrange inspections, set up trash removal and ensure all utilities are paid on time in order to meet deadlines by early November this year, court records showed. The owner must relocate tenants if necessary, cover alternative housing costs, and secure vacant buildings by Nov. 21, 2024. As of early December, neither city officials or defense attorneys would confirm if any deadlines met.

The specific actions required by the court included:

• The owner must provide the City’s Department of Neighborhood Services with its current rent roll and the locations of all existing tenants by Nov. 8, 2024.
• The owner must coordinate and authorize the entry of the Department of Neighborhood Services agents and inspectors to inspect the heating systems. The inspection must be completed by Nov. 12, 2024.
• The owner must obtain a trash removal service for the entirety of the property, maintain it weekly, and establish it by Nov. 8, 2024, at the latest.
• Let the city know if any tenants must be relocated from Champaign Park Apartments because of a lack of heat or water. The order said the owner must immediately give 24 hours of notice to the Department of Neighborhood Services. 
• The order also stated that the defendant must relocate the tenants and provide payment for alternative lodging until the tenants’ units are suitable for habitation again.
• The owner must promptly pay all water and sanitary sewer utilities for Champaign Park Apartments.
• The owner must board or secure all vacant structures on the subject property by Nov. 21, 2024.

In return, the city agreed to withdraw its motion for a temporary restraining order as long as the owner complied with the agreement:

• Since this Agreed Order has been entered, the City has agreed to withdraw its Motion for TRO as long as Champaign Park Apartments, LLC complies with its components from Nov. 1. 
• Suppose Defendant fails to comply with any aspects of this Agreed Order. In that case, the City will immediately notice a motion for a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, and indirect civil contempt against the Defendant and its agencies.

Due to the ongoing litigation, multiple city officials and those involved in the case could not confirm or deny if Champaign Apartments LLC has adhered to any of the dates in the Agreed Order. 

As of Dec. 2023, the owner had repaid $167,000 in damages and was expected to pay another $81,594 by April 2024. City officials could not confirm if the owner had paid the rest of this sum. 

According to reports filed in the case in late October, the owner owes $17,619 to the Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District alone as of Oct. 2024. 

Residents unhappy with out-of-town owners

The apartments are owned by New York-based Champaign Apartments Owner LLC, run by Michael Chetrit, a co-founder at Chetrit Ventures. Located about 862 miles away, the company is said to ignore the happenings in Champaign.

These types of civil neglect lawsuits are not the first Chetrit or his group have faced. In 2023, the company faced another lawsuit in Cleveland, Ohio, for negligent management, which has been ongoing since. The case centers around over 100 violations of the city housing code at the buildings.

Phontez Taylor, a former resident in 2022, had lived in Champaign since 1989 but decided to move to Bloomington after his stay in Champaign Park Apartments. 

“Nobody was diligent or persistent; you could easily get sick from the living means there. At times, it was hard for me to breathe,” Phontez said. “I guess there was so much fungus, debris, and stuff that you could easily get sick in there.” 

Phontez alleged management and those employed at the apartment complex did not care about resident complaints or well-being. 

“We would call for maintenance to be done, like when the shower or tub was stopped up, and they wouldn’t even come,” he said.

In 2023, 37 housing complaints were filed by tenants against Champaign Park Apartments through the City of Champaign. These complaints mostly pertained to a lack of heat, no running or hot water and mold issues. In December 2023, 300 apartment units remained condemned from the previous year. 

According to documents filed in the court case, the buildings’ condemnations and violations typically occurred after a comprehensive inspection revealed various safety hazards and structural deficiencies threatening residents’ wellness.

The buildings were also reported to have heating problems, plumbing malfunctions, mold, cracks in load-bearing walls, water leaks, no running water, compromised fire safety systems, and other electrical issues, which were all among the concerns of inspectors.

Court documents show repeated motions, orders

As of December 2024, both lawsuits against the apartments are ongoing. All public court case information can be searched on the Champaign County Circuit Clerk‘s website. The lawsuit’s case numbers are “2022CH000049” and “2022CH000051.” 

Kelley A. Gandurski from the firm Elrod Friedman LLP is the counsel representing the city, and
James A. Martinkus from the local firm Erwin, Martinkus and Cole, Ltd., is the counsel for
Champaign Apartment Owners LLC.

The first lawsuit was filed under a Motion for Emergency Injunctive Relief, a remedy that restrains a party from doing certain acts or, in this case, requires a party to act in a certain way or complete specific tasks, on Nov. 17, 2024, and is currently in continuation. 

The next court date of this case is not yet set, but as of Oct. 30, 2024, the apartment owner filed a motion to continue the case in court.

However, there was a brief break in the case regarding appearances in court from May until early August of this year. Since August, many motions and orders have been filed repeatedly. This case’s last official court date was Aug. 15, 2023, and the only judgments made within the case that are a part of public records concerning Appearance Fees for various defendants. 

The second case was opened on Nov. 23, 2022, with the latest court hearing taking place on Dec. 11, 2024. Arguments continue on Dec. 19, court records show.

The judge on both of the lawsuits against the apartments is Benjamin W. Dyer, a resident Champaign County Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Illinois. 

CU-CitizenAccess has contacted various public officials representing the City of Champaign, such as City Attorney Thomas Yu and Code Compliance Manager Tim Spear. No city officials were able to comment on the case or current conditions of the apartments, they said, because the lawsuits are ongoing. 

“The City is involved in pending litigation against the owners of Champaign Park Apartments and, as a policy, cannot comment on pending litigation,” City Attorney Yu said.