JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the First Alert Weather team tracks bitter cold temperatures across northeast Florida, multiple people living at a senior living center in Jacksonville say they’re getting through it without any heat.
Dixie Smith is one of them. She told us she has lived at the Riverton Tower Senior Center for the last five years and has always had a struggle to stay warm, especially in the winter months.
“It’s pretty ridiculous, it hasn’t been good,” Smith said.
Smith is a stroke survivor living on the ninth floor of the building, which we learned is more than 60 years old. Smith also pointed out a buildup of mold along the ceiling of her apartment that she says has been reported multiple times, but never fully removed.
We learned that the building, located on Arlington Expressway at the east end of the Mathews Bridge, failed a state inspection in September during a routine check of the elevator. It’s a concern for Smith’s daughter, Heather Clarke, given her health history.
“She could have another stroke at any time,” said Clarke, “if the elevators are broken and EMTs had to come up nine flights of stairs, that’s life or death.”
The elevator’s malfunction is a concern that Thomas Kelly also brought to us. He’s a cancer survivor living on the 12th floor of the building and uses a cane to walk.
“I’m terrified of the elevators, and if you’ve ever toted groceries 12 flights of stairs, it’s pretty hard on an old fella,” Kelly said.
Kelly told us he has spent the last four weeks without heat. He said he has had to resort to turning on his oven and opening its door to heat up the apartment, all while occasionally losing access to hot water.
“I can’t get warm no matter what I do,” Kelly said, “it’s always cold in there. You can’t get a shower when it’s this cold, when it’s 55 degrees in your apartment.”
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Riverton Tower is owned by a Jacksonville-based nonprofit developer called Ability Housing. We reached out to Ability Housing to respond to the building’s heating concerns and were told that Riverton Tower’s HVAC system was installed by the previous owner of the building. Ability Housing said it hasn’t been able to easily repair the heating system, since they didn’t install it, and that they are currently working to either fix or replace it. Ability Housing sent us this statement:
“Resident safety is our top priority. All residents of Riverton Tower have been provided with portable heating towers at no charge to ensure their warmth and comfort while the main heating system is assessed. Our on-site property management team and maintenance technician are available to assist any residents in need of additional heating support until the situation is resolved, including delivery and installation of extra heating towers if needed.”
Ability Housing said it could not provide a timeline of repairs for Riverton Tower’s HVAC system at this time, but also shared that it would look into concerns regarding the building’s elevator.
Clarke and her mom are calling on the building’s staff to step up.
“You get somebody out to fix it,” Clarke said, “these are our senior citizens, and they deserve to be warm.”
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