Hundreds of families without hot water and heat for weeks at former Eureka Garden complex as gas line gets replaced
Oct. 24--Nearly 800 people in a housing complex in Jacksonville are without hot water or heat while underground gas line infrastructure is being replaced.
This has been going on for three weeks at Valencia Way, formerly Eureka Garden, on Jacksonville's Westside. Residents said they expect it to last for another three weeks to a month.
During that time, families have to use portable bathrooms and showers set up in the apartment's parking lots.
Valencia Way residents, like Michelle Clark, told First Coast News they fear their living conditions there will not improve any time soon.
"I think it's worse now, especially for the children," Clark said. "To have to take a bath in the cold water and then go to school, it's just awful."
U.S. Rep. Al Lawson is demanding action from HUD.
Lawson asked HUD to intervene to ensure that residents, who want it, are provided with temporary housing and transportation until the gas is restored to Valencia Way.
"My concern is that the residents of Valencia Way, who are still paying their full rent, are treated with the utmost dignity and respect during this difficult time," Rep. Lawson said. "They, like most Americans, want a clean, affordable and safe place to call home. Sadly, the current conditions the residents are forced to live with do not meet that mark."
First Coast News reached out to managers on the property Wednesday but were told to send all of our questions to the company's media representative, who says they are working to address the concerns we raised by the families.
As they address those questions, they sent the following statement:
"We are working with our valued vendors and suppliers to restore natural gas service to the Valencia Way community as quickly and safely as possible. After decades of gradual deterioration, the entire underground infrastructure is being replaced; during this time, we are focused on providing resources to residents to minimize inconvenience, including daily meal service, cooking appliances, secure temporary showers and fully functional laundry facilities.
We understand this is a difficult time for our residents, and that is why we are working diligently to restore service to the buildings on a rolling basis; as work is completed for each phase, service will be restored, expediting the process."
TECO Peoples Gas put out a news release Oct. 7 saying it was extending its natural gas system and will install new pipes in Valencia Way complex. At that time, the company said the work was expected to take up to six weeks.
"Residents of Valencia Way have had no natural gas service since Oct. 2, due to safety issues with the legacy system, which is not owned by Peoples Gas. After the property owner made several attempts to repair decades-old pipes, it was determined that rebuilding the underground system was the safest option.
Peoples Gas is working closely with city leaders and the property owner to get a solution in place as quickly and as safely as possible, so the residents of Valencia Way can get gas service within a few weeks."
When it was known as Eureka Garden, the apartment complex was in horrible disrepair. At one point, city inspectors found code violations in every apartment they examined.
Mayor Lenny Curry and City Councilman Garrett Dennis were among the city leaders who joined U.S. senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio to press for new ownership of Eureka Garden, a transfer that eventually happened with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority.
In 2018, Eureka Garden, along with the Washington Heights, Moncrief Village and Southside Apartments complexes, were sold for nearly $51 million to an Ohio-based company called Millennia.
By November of that year, workers were gutting the interior of some apartments that were slated to get floor-to-ceiling renovations, part of $24 million work on the complext that provided at that time affordable housing to 1,200 people.
Visit First Coast News for their full coverage, with video, of this story.
