BEMIDJI — Just a few hours after being told they would need to vacate their homes in less than a week, residents of the Red Pine Estates in Bemidji sat outside talking as the sun began to set.
Their conversation was centered around a notice that had been put up on the building’s doors earlier that day, part of which read: “As a condition of your continued use of the premises, you assume all risk of personal injury, death or property loss resulting from a partial or complete collapse (of the building).”
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What started on Monday with an inspection, was ending Friday evening with an order from the city to vacate the building.
“As of Thursday at 4 o’clock, we’re all homeless,” said a resident, who preferred not to be named. “A lot of us have nowhere to go. I don’t have any family left.”
For almost all of the nearly 50 residents, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s and rely on social security for income, the news is a heavy blow. With the tight time frame and lack of affordable housing in Bemidji, they’re left wondering where they can live.
“Where in this town are apartments that are going to support all of us?” another resident asked.
The reason behind the evacuation is structural concerns. During a city inspection of the building — located at 2590 Ridgeway Ave. NW — on Monday, Bemidji Building Official Todd Beito noted several signs of fatigue, particularly on the second and third floors.
“On the third floor of the building, I observed obvious signs of fatigue, specifically a spongy floor and the ceiling pulling away from the wall,” a letter from Beito that was provided to the residents read. “Throughout the building, I observed the following signs of fatigue: bouncy floors, uneven floors, patchwork, and, where the ceiling had been removed, webbing that had let loose on the floor joists.”
Beito also found that a first-floor apartment ceiling had been removed and that beams had been placed to brace the upper floors.
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Schuett Companies, who owns the property, had brought a structural engineer to inspect the building on June 15 who had recommended that two units be immediately vacated and indicated that the structure was unsuitable for long-term occupancy.
On June 28, Schuett brought in a second structural engineer, who was unable to determine if the building was safe or unsafe based on a walk-through alone.
Based on these reports, and in an effort to ensure the safety of the tenants, Beito ordered the evacuation of Red Pine, starting no later than Wednesday, July 5, with the requirement for all residents to be vacated by 4 p.m. Thursday.
Breaking the news
This news was given to Red Pine’s residents at a community meeting on Friday, June 30, by Schuett President and CEO Tom Schuett. While a Pioneer reporter did attempt to attend the meeting, they were asked to leave.
The Pioneer did reach out to both Schuett Companies and the city of Bemidji for additional comments, but has not received a reply. On Friday, a resident came forward with a recording of the meeting at Red Pine which they provided to the Pioneer.
“There are concerns about loading on this building, so while we do not believe there is any imminent danger based on what we have heard from engineers, we cannot determine that this (building) is safe or unsafe,” Schuett said, “so, the city is requiring this evacuation.”
Schuett went on to explain that the city is requesting an orderly evacuation, starting with residents on the third floor and moving down. He also told residents that his team would be willing to discuss living situations and would provide reasonable accommodation if necessary.
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“We’re all working together to solve this problem. We’re all here trying to accomplish the same goal,” Schuett said. “We will work with people.”
At the meeting, Schuett provided contact information for housing resources in the area and a list of other Schuett properties that residents could move into if they desired.
These other properties, however, are located in different cities. While Schuett said that his company would help cover the moving costs, many residents shared they didn’t view leaving Bemidji as a viable option.
“None of these are local,” one resident said during the meeting. "There’s nobody in this room who can move to Grand Forks or Pelican Rapids or anywhere else. This is where these people live.”
Other residents asked how the management company could have missed the structural concerns long enough that they had become this serious.
“With all the inspections we’ve had here, why is all this crap found out now? Why not then?” a resident asked.
Schuett responded that the severity of the concerns wasn’t immediately apparent until an invasive inspection was done.
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“It wasn’t apparent to the naked eye. We had to get up into the floor joists to see what’s going on, that’s why it wasn’t found,” Schuett explained.
Since it is subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Red Pine is subject to inspections by HUD in addition to the city of Bemidji. In its last three HUD inspections, beginning in 2015, the building has steadily dropped in score.
In the last HUD inspection, released on Jan. 27, 2022, Red Pines received a score of 69c*. A score below 79 means several areas of concern were noted and require annual inspections, the "c" denotes that at least one life-threatening health and safety deficiency was reported and the asterisk signals that at least one inoperable smoke detector was found.
Schuett maintained during the meeting that Schuett Companies was not to blame for the current situation.
“It’s not our fault that this is happening,” Schuett said during the meeting. “It was constructed by a different contractor, we bought it from the contractor … We discovered the issue and we are doing everything that we can to fix it and make sure that you’re safe.”
Schuett also shared that his company is looking into potentially repairing the building, but that there currently aren’t enough details to make that decision.
“This is an important asset for the community and for the state, so we will work with them to figure out what are the next steps,” Schuett shared.
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Residents’ frustrations
The next steps for the people who live at Red Pine aren’t clear, however. While Schuett has alluded that it may pay for 30 days in a hotel as a temporary living situation if necessary, many of them worry about their ability to find somewhere permanent before that time is up.
“Where are we going to go?” a resident asked Friday evening outside of Red Pine. “There’s absolutely no way we’re all going to find a place to live in 30 days.”
One of the most common frustrations shared by the residents, all of whom wished to remain anonymous, was the lack of communication provided by the management company as events unfolded.
“They kept us in the dark, they didn’t tell us anything they found,” one tenant said. “They could have at least told us what they were looking for and that we might have to vacate our apartments, instead of a bombshell that was dropped all at once.”
While some residents shared that they’d never had a problem with the management company, others gave their opinion that the building’s maintenance had been slipping for years and that the company knew several apartments were in bad shape, particularly after flooding occurred on the third floor.
“They neglected it. When you know that an apartment is in bad shape, why would you let it go?” a resident said. “When you have flooding apartments, you know there’s going to be damage on your support beams. Why wouldn’t you check to make sure the floor was safe?”
Questions about the cause of the damage or who’s to blame, however, don’t change the fact that the residents are faced with few options and have less than a week to leave a place that they’ve called home.
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“We’re going to take it one day at a time and pray to God,” a resident shared. “That’s all we can do.”
The Trust Project
