Savannah District 5 Alderwoman Estella E. Shabazz hosted a community meeting on Wednesday evening at the Tatemville Community Center , 333 Coleman St., to address tenant concerns about living conditions at the Montgomery Landing Apartment Complex and provide public safety updates for residents of the Feiler Park community.
At the meeting, apartment tenants and Feiler Park residents raised concerns about ongoing maintenance issues, such as water leaks, mold, and broken appliances. The maintenance issues persisted, some tenants said, despite multiple work orders to apartment complex staff. Montgomery Landing Apartment Complex tenants also spoke about an issue with trash disposal.
The Montgomery Landings Apartment Complex, 714 W. 57th St, was built in 2005, according to its website. The non-profit owned and operated complex houses people with annual incomes ranging from $10,000 to $45,000 and offers multifamily and single-family homes with one-to-four-bedroom floor plans at rents below market value, the website states.
What happened at the meeting?
The meeting, which lasted about one and a half hours, also included updates about public safety within the Feiler Park Community, particularly that while crime is decreasing, residents have experienced an uptick in crimes around entering auto.
Alongside residents in attendance were multiple Savannah Police Department (SPD) personnel, including Chief Lenny Gunther; Savannah City Manager Jay Melder; City of Savannah attorney Bates Lovett; multiple Savannah Fire Department (SFD) personnel; and the Savannah Director of Code Compliance Cynthia Knight.
Lori Bobier, director of assets for the Paces Foundation , a nonprofit organization that owns and maintains multiple affordable housing developments, including the Montgomery Landings Apartment Complex, and Wayne Dawson, executive director of the nonprofit Savannah-Chatham County Fair Housing Council, also spoke at the event.
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“We want to be a partner in the community, and we want to be, we always say, like the shining light, the thing that starts off, all the good stuff in the neighborhood," said Bobier. "And I think we were that, you know, 15, 20, years ago, when we came into the community, that we've kind of gotten old and haggard, but we're investing. We're getting a facelift, and we're going to come back strong.”
She added that they are “about to kick off a $46 million renovation on the property.” The renovation is supposed to start in October 2026 and be completed by 2027, said Bobier.
One Feiler Park resident said Montgomery Landings Apartment complex tenants were dumping trash in her yard. Shabazz said she has spoken with 12 to 15 residents, and she said that staircases are “falling down” within the complex.
Another resident stated that her fire alarm has been leaking water, and the alarm has rusted. She said she did what the manager told her to do, which was to fill out a work order. After filing two work orders, maintenance staff came by her apartment and told her the issue was resolved. That same night, she said, her fire alarm started leaking again, and it hasn’t been fixed for the last two months.
“You should be willing to call somebody immediately and have somebody send out and see about that moment,” said another resident. “As far as those trigger heads leaking, they need to be changed. And you understand that and you know that. The only thing you're doing is beating around the bush right now.”
Bobier said the company finished a root-analysis of all the properties and all of the units. “We will be going full force to make the corrections,” said Bobier. “I think if anything, it’s a communication issue. I wouldn't have sent you online to turn in your report. I would say, ‘Hey, you got a serious problem, an urgent situation. We'll have somebody up there within 24-hour maintenance.' They should have shown up that day.”
During the public safety portion of the meeting, Gunther said crime has decreased within the community. According to crime statistics obtained by the Savannah Morning News, SPD responded to seven incidents at Montgomery Landings Apartment Complex from June 1 through Aug. 27, including four domestic disturbance calls, two terroristic threats and one report of gunshots fired.
“What's important for me and my team is how you feel. You know the numbers can say, hey, you know crime is down,” said Gunther. “Because you don't feel like crime is down, that means that we have some things to do on our end. So that's what we need to listen to you and fill us in and let us know what we need to do so you feel safe.”
The community event is one of multiple meetings held within the past two months. On July 11, the Cann/Jackson Park Neighborhood Association held an emergency meeting at the First Nazareth Missionary Baptist Church, 1023 W. 44th St., to address recent shootings and homicides in the community, including the July 7 killing of a 16-year-old at 49th and Florance streets . The neighborhood sits within Shabazz's district and adjacent to District 2 Alderman Detric Leggett's district.
Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah alderwoman hosts community meeting to discuss public safety, living conditions concerns
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