JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM has been investigating ongoing problems at Arbor Oaks Apartments on the Westside since September. It all started with a resident who reported going days without running water.
Because of the reporting, JEA restored water service and changed its policy to notify residents before shutting off water. However, issues persisted.
The I-TEAM tried repeatedly to contact property management and ownership to get answers for residents living amid uncollected trash and deteriorating conditions.
“If you want to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, we are literally using the bathroom in buckets and then carrying it outside and throwing it in the trash,” said Naportia Jones back in September.
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According to JEA, the water service had been off since July due to a $15,000 unpaid bill, with JEA reporting meter tampering. After News4JAX’s initial story, JEA said the bill was paid by Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC, the company listed as the property owner.
The City of Jacksonville confirmed 15 complaints since July about Arbor Oaks, resulting in more than $2,300 in fines for insect infestations, garbage issues, and ceiling damage.
After weeks of knocking on doors with no response, a representative from the management company finally ran into someone with the property management team, but they refused to answer questions or provide contact information for ownership.
The city said property management told them they are aware of the issues and plans to address them.
News4JAX also looked into the property owner.
Attempts to reach the owner, according to property records, Andrew Sallee, who has a large social media following, were unsuccessful. He initially claimed to have sold the property back to the previous owner but did not provide proof of sale or respond to calls.
The I-TEAM tracked Sallee to a condo building in Fort Lauderdale but could not reach him.
After returning to Jacksonville, we received an email from Legacy Family Communities, a new management group formed shortly after the initial reports.
The new group acknowledged the problems and said they were committed to fixing them.
Since then, visible improvements have been made at Arbor Oaks, including trash pickup and maintenance work. However, the new management has not agreed to an interview and shut their office door when approached.
News4JAX reached out to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation about the conditions, but received no response.
Councilwoman Tyrona Clark Murray, representing the district, said in a September meeting she was aware of the issues and planned to discuss solutions, but to this date, she has not scheduled a follow-up meeting.