Three weeks after the Kalamazoo Area Building Authority condemned Wildwood Off Main apartments, residents appeared before the Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees Monday night to describe a situation that has grown more complicated, and more urgent, since the condemnation order.
What they described included management continuing to show and market units after condemnation, residents being presented with non-disparagement agreements before they could leave, June rent being billed on condemned units, mail no longer being delivered, dangerous stairs and balconies, and trash accumulating at dumpsters with no timely response.
What happened after condemnation
The first resident to speak, Amber, described the sequence of events in detail. On the day KABA issued the condemnation, management told residents they were “just as shocked” and had retained legal counsel to dispute it.
In the days that followed, as residents began trying to move out ahead of their lease end dates, management presented them with what Amber described as a Word document, emphasis hers, settlement agreement. The document contained confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses with $5,000 penalties for speaking publicly about their experience, negative reviews, or comments about the property, with a signing deadline.
Meanwhile, staff continued giving tours of the property. Listings on the management website and Apartments.com carried no indication of the condemnation. When Amber and her sister began commenting on the property’s Facebook page to ask about the situation, those comments were deleted, along with Google reviews, and Amber was blocked from the page entirely.
Most recently, residents received emails stating that rent would be charged on June 1.
“So in that circumstance,” she told the board, residents with 292 units were each weighing individually whether they had “the time, money, resources to potentially combat the retaliation that Wildwood might come forward with, if I don’t pay rent or just pay it because I just want this to go away.”
A second resident echoed those concerns during the meeting’s second public comment period, describing the situation for residents who have chosen to stay: no mail delivery, dangerous stairs and balconies, and overflowing dumpsters. She told the board that the management’s power over residents comes from their not knowing their rights or who would support them if they withheld rent, demanded May’s rent back, or refused to clean a condemned unit before vacating.
“We need actual support,” she said.
The jurisdiction problem
The board was sympathetic and candid about the limits of what the township can do.
Supervisor Combs acknowledged directly that the township has no legal jurisdiction over the condemnation or its enforcement. That authority rests with KABA, the Kalamazoo Area Building Authority, which is a separate unit of government. The township cannot condemn buildings, enforce condemnations, or intervene in the landlord-tenant relationship through its own authority.
What the township does have is ordinance enforcement. Supervisor Combs encouraged any resident who believes a township ordinance has been violated to file a complaint through the form at ktwp.org, or to contact him directly at supervisor@ktwp.org.
He also pointed residents toward KABA itself, noting that as a governmental unit, KABA is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, holds public meetings, and is required to offer public comment periods.
A third resource he named was the Kalamazoo County Housing Office, which administers a county housing millage and offers a range of services across the housing spectrum. He gave the office’s direct line — 269-720-3246 — and identified the director as Mary Balkama, reachable through this online form
Supervisor Combs offered to go further than providing contact information. “If you need support or just would like support reaching out to anyone at the county or anywhere else directly, please feel free to contact me,” he said. “I will get on the phone with you and them if necessary, or I’m happy to go down to the county with you.”
What residents are facing
The situation at Wildwood Off Main sits at an intersection of housing, tenant rights, and governmental jurisdiction that is genuinely complicated. The body residents showed up to address, the township board, cares about the outcome and has offered what help it can. The body that holds actual authority over the condemnation, KABA, is where this story continues.
If you are a current or former Wildwood Off Main resident:
- Township ordinance complaints: ktwp.org or supervisor@ktwp.org
- KABA meetings are public and include public comment periods
- Kalamazoo County Housing Office: 269-720-3246 | https://www.kalcounty.gov/351/Housing
- Michigan Legal Help (tenant rights information): michiganlegalhelp.org
Watch the meeting
