JACKSONVILLE, Fla — For the past 2 days, Action News Jax has featured stories about the living conditions at Valencia Way apartments, since yesterday, and we have received a response from Senator Marco Rubio.
Action News Jax spoke with Monalisa Arnold who has been a tenant in the complex since 2006, she showed us some of the issues with her unit, “this is where my house keeps on leaking, and they keep painting over it. See the wall right there? They painted over where it was flooding in here.”
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After years of pushing for change, Arnold says she wants to see more permanent measures taken to fix the issues she and her neighbors are dealing with, “I want this place to either be brought up to code, or shut down, because it’s not fair that they’ve gotten millions of dollars to renovate this place, and it still looks like it did before.”
Action News Jax has thoroughly documented living conditions that seem to be deteriorating at Valencia Way apartments after a renovation process that began in 2018. Since yesterday we have received more email complaints from various tenants. They all say they have complained to the property manager, Millennia Housing Management, and HUD, but their concerns have not been addressed.
Action News Jax has contacted the office of Senator Marco Rubio who led the charge for renovations at the facility starting in 2015, Action News Jax has received a statement from him saying:
“Floridians should not be subjected to unsanitary or unsafe living conditions. I was proud to spearhead the efforts to rehabilitate Valencia Way. My commitment to my constituents remains firm, and I look forward to working with these residents to learn more about the issues they are experiencing.”
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Action News Jax will follow up with Senator Rubio’s office to learn how he plans to address the complaints of tenants.
Related read: Valencia Way Apartments tenant endures extreme heat due to non-functional air conditioning
Related read: Valencia Way neighbors without gas for nearly three weeks
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