Rat and drug-ridden St. Paul apartment building placed under receivership

As the City of St. Paul hauls loads and loads of trash to dumpsters, a Ramsey County judge has placed a rat and drug-ridden downtown St. Paul apartment building under temporary emergency receivership.

For now, that takes away all management responsibilities from the building's owner, Madison Equities, which is planning to put the building up for sale in the coming days.

Earlier this week St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said putting it into receivership will hold the owners accountable.

"They are not off the hook, they are responsible," says Mayor Carter. "I'm not a lawyer, but that ought to be criminal in my opinion, because it's just plain disgusting."

Tenants say  Madison Equities never told them that the building went into foreclosure earlier this year.

Carter says there's no excuse for the building's condition.

"The living conditions, that Madison Equities has their tenants living in, is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen in my life," Carter told WCCO Radio.

In a written statement, an attorney for Madison Equities says the receiver will most likely struggle mightily to maintain the building and stop the crime that persists, saying "this is a problem of the city’s creation, and only they can solve it."

Lowry Apartments contain 134 units. Residents say they are dealing with mold issues and rat infestation, and Carter called the conditions "criminal", adding the building is infested by rats and roaches, beset with dirty rugs and walls, and littered with everything from needles to human waste.

Built in 1928, the 11-story building at Fourth and Wabasha Street became an apartment building in the 1970s.