Jones Walker apartment tenants starting to see changes

Tenants at the Jones Walker apartments complex in Fort Myers are starting to see relief from terrible living conditions.

One tenant just moved into a nice and clean unit that used to be riddled with mold.

“When I first seen this apartment I was like, I started crying a little bit you know? I’m excited. I’m happy we’re out of the other apartment and into this one,” she said.

Management at Jones Walker Palm Garden apartments moved Ebony Lee from a moldy and pest-infested unit to one of their newly renovated apartments.

“The walls are different then what they were, the floors are different, the kitchen is new,” Lee said.

Managers say that so far, crews have renovated three apartments with more than 17 to go. But most tenants living there say the changes are only benefiting a few, and that crews are only making quick fixes to their homes.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development set a deadline for the owners to fix the apartments after racking up a list of code violations.

But still, resident Helen Crowley says the complex is a living hazard.

“I’m so devastated about this, like I said, me and my daughter were still getting sick in here. It’s still the same. The pipes and stuff are still the same,” she said.

Which leaves many wondering if they are going to be left on the waiting list.

But Crowley and Lee, who was one of the first to speak up about the poor living conditions, say they won’t stop until changes are made for everyone.

“It should be for every unit, all 80 units. Not just a few.”