NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the Shorter College Gardens Apartment Complex following growing complaints from tenants who say they have been forced to live in unsafe and deteriorating conditions.

The announcement comes one day after the City of North Little Rock began the process of condemning the privately owned complex, citing major health and safety violations.

On Thursday, plumbers were on-site working to address water and plumbing problems. Two employees with the Arnold Grounds Management Company were seen in the office around 4 p.m., but the door was locked and they would not speak. Contact information was left for a manager who could respond.

Tenants say that while the city has restored power and water service, the issues inside their apartments continue to worsen. They describe years of mold, pest infestations, water damage, and structural problems.

“Mainly, I’ve been out here since 2019. At first, it was OK starting off, but things just started getting bad as far as things of mold mainly,” said Direyana Parham, who lives at the complex with her two children. “And this year that I’ve done had both of my children, the doctors tested my babies ' blood and they said my son has lead in his blood system cause of the water.”

Tina Lee, who has lived in the complex since 2018, said the deterioration has been ongoing.

“As of now, there is a hole in my living room ceiling my ceiling fell in in October of last year,” she said. “And right now my bathroom ceiling is leaking due to plumbing issues from upstairs and that’s been going on since Sunday evening.”

Lee said the conditions have left families feeling forgotten.

“Like y’all get to go home and sleep comfortability and your house is at night and we are forced to live with these conditions, and I just don’t that’s not fair at all,” she said.

A’Mari Crutcher, a 13-year-old who lives with her grandmother at the complex, said she has tried to speak on behalf of her grandmother since she suffered a stroke.

“We’ve tried to at least get them to move us to a cleaner apartment. They said they were going to they never did,” Crutcher said. “We have a hole in our ceiling. It’s mold and water damage, for four years, yes, for years.”

She also described ongoing safety concerns across the property.

“Their hobo is breaking into the abandoned apartments and living there and there’s been shootouts. It’s not even the living conditions. It’s just this whole area,” she said.

The complex is no longer receiving federal housing funds after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development terminated its subsidy contract effective November 1, citing the owner’s failure to remedy major threats to health and safety and maintain the property in a safe condition.

North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick said earlier this week that the city restored power after learning electricity had been cut off to the office that powers the boilers for hot water.

The mayor’s office and the North Little Rock Housing Authority continue coordinating with HUD to help relocate tenants, though the ongoing federal government shutdown has delayed the release of voucher lists.

U.S. Congressman French Hill’s office confirmed it has been in contact with both HUD and Mayor Hartwick’s office to help find a resolution for affected tenants.

Arkansas State Representative Tracy Steele, who grew up in the complex, called the situation heartbreaking.

“Well, it’s mixed emotions. It brings back a lot of wonderful memories when here, it was a wonderful complex,” Steele said. “But to see it where it is today is heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking to see how it’s deteriorated over the years and people who invested in these properties didn’t care enough to really keep it up.”

Steele said the federal shutdown has worsened the situation for families waiting on relocation assistance.

“The other is the government shutdown. It couldn’t come at a worse time for the people at Shorter Garden because they have to have their federal vouchers to be able to take them and move and go somewhere else,” he said.

He added that the out-of-state owners have been slow to respond to the ongoing problems.

“One stumbling block for us is the owners from out of state. They just don’t know the property. They don’t know the tenants. They’ve been very lackadaisical about fixing things, keeping up even cutting the grass,” Steele said.

City officials say they will continue working with HUD and Congressman Hill’s team to determine solutions.