“We’re still kind of working on that. There will be total renovation and redevelopment of the whole property,” said Ostendorf, who is undertaking two similar renovations in Butler County: at the Courtyards at Miami property in Oxford, and at the Twin Gables apartments on the west side of Hamilton, he said.
Ostendorf had no definitive timetable for the renovation, although he said it may be a little while yet before the burned building is worked on.
“We’ll at least get it under roof and get it looking good. But there are so many problems there. There’s low occupancy and we want to make a new image there. It will be exciting to see what we do with the place.”
Tasha Bridges, the property manager at Heritage Glen, said it was “business as normal” at the complex, and that Ostendorf planned to visit on Jan. 20. She said that the complex has 229 apartments, with 47 people in residence.
Ostendorf will reveal his plans to the Fairfield City Council at its next meeting on Jan. 23, said City Manager Art Pizzano.
The apartment property had been owned by Lanny Holbrook, who died Jan. 6 at the age of 65. Many of his properties had been cited for health, building and fire code violations.
In 2010, he was found guilty in Fairfield Municipal Court on 43 charges stemming from code and zoning violations.
Most recently, the property had been in receivership, Bridges said. Ostendorf said he had tried to buy the property from Holbrook more than two years ago, but they couldn’t agree on a price.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5073 or eric.robinette@coxinc.com.
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