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Revere files for receivership of condemned building. Here’s what that means.
The Water's Edge Apartment building caught fire last month, displacing over 80 residents.
Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo’s office announced Thursday that it filed an emergency request for receivership of a high rise that was condemned after a fire last month left residents homeless.
The Water’s Edge Apartments building at 370 Ocean Avenue caught fire on June 21 after someone improperly disposed of smoking materials, according to The Boston Globe. As a result, more than 80 residents were displaced. They have been forced to live off of personal savings, and the Connecticut-based landlord has so far refused to pay the $750 checks that tenants are legally owed in relocation benefits.
Arrigo said that the purpose of pursuing receivership now is so the city can oversee necessary improvements. Officials were scheduled to inspect the building Thursday, WCVB reported, in order to see its current conditions and determine whether receivership will be granted.
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Carabetta, which manages the property, has a history of complaints regarding properties in Revere and Malden, according to the Globe. Arrigo said that, since 2004, the city has fined Carabette 70 times, and that the company owes Revere more than $1 million.
Last week, Revere condemned the building for outstanding code violations exacerbated by the fire. It was declared unfit for human habitation. Residents told the Globe that they were allowed back into the building after the fire, but days before it was condemned.
In lieu of the payments legally owed to residents by Carabetta, Arrigo’s office will use American Rescue Plan Act funding to help them get back on their feet, CBS reported. The city is planning a meeting next week for displaced residents to update them on relocation efforts.
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“We will take every legal action possible against Carabetta for ignoring their legal obligations and total disregard for human dignity and decency as landowners and property managers in our city,” Arrigo said in a statement.
The city will also foreclose all three Carabetta-managed properties in Revere since the company owes $1.9 million in outstanding taxes to the city.
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