Nine years ago, Ferguson鈥檚 Canfield Green Apartments gained international attention as the site where Michael Brown Jr. was killed.
But more recently, the complex 鈥� now named Pleasant View Gardens Apartments 鈥� has become Exhibit A in a different story, this one about federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Aria Legacy Group of Lakewood, New Jersey, bought the complex of 414 apartments in April 2021. Big changes soon followed.
That August, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal COVID-19 eviction moratorium.
A few weeks later, the new owners began taping notices to the doors of 80 tenants, informing them they had just three days to move out. The eviction notices touched off a scramble among Ferguson city officials and nonprofit groups to keep roofs over tenants鈥� heads.
While that crisis was eventually averted, Aria Legacy Group wound up filing 265 eviction cases between September 2021 and the autumn of 2023, St. Louis County court records show.
Yet those actions did not prevent the owners from raking in big money through a state-controlled, federally funded $600 million COVID-19 relief program called State Assistance For Housing Relief, or SAFHR.
SAFHR provided financial aid for rent and utilities to tenants hurt financially by the pandemic. The Missouri Housing Development Commission, which oversaw SAFHR, estimates the program prevented the evictions of at least 86,000 Missourians.
In most cases, SAFHR funds to help tenants went directly to landlords.
Aria Legacy Group, through its Pleasant View subsidiary, received $1,140,065 in SAFHR funding 鈥� making it No. 5 on the list of top 10 SAFHR recipients, according to Missouri Housing Development Commission records.
Larresha Henderson was on the SAFHR program until it ran out in January. She can鈥檛 believe Pleasant View Gardens received $1.1 million in federal tax dollars through SAFHR because none of it 鈥� at least from what she can tell 鈥� was put back into the apartment complex.
鈥淣obody came to fix anything,鈥� she recalls, citing a clogged sink and a hallway light that鈥檚 remained broken for months.
鈥淭here was a lot of stuff going on there that didn鈥檛 add up,鈥� she says. 鈥淲here鈥檇 the money go?鈥�
Free money
The idea that a landlord could get federal funds to house tenants and then not only do nothing to improve living conditions, but also soon file to evict those tenants, may seem appalling. But it was all legal under Missouri鈥檚 administration of the SAFHR program.
As the River City Journalism Fund previously reported, four of the St. Louis area鈥檚 five biggest evictors received significant SAFHR funds from the state. Nothing in the rules barred them from kicking tenants out or even using assembly-line-style tactics to do so.
That was true even during the supposed eviction 鈥渕oratorium,鈥� which applied only to tenants who could show they were harmed directly by the COVID-19 pandemic (either too sick to work or affected by the slowing economy). Unlike Minnesota and other states, Missouri never imposed a statewide eviction ban. And after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the eviction freeze in August 2021, the pace of evictions only accelerated.
The River City Journalism Fund has continued to press the state for more records from the SAFHR program, using the state鈥檚 Sunshine Law to request lists, respectively, of the top 10 SAFHR funding recipients and the top 100 SAFHR funding recipients, broken out by name, address and ZIP code.
Those records revealed that, technically, three of the top 10 overall SAFHR recipients were utilities: Spire, which received nearly $3.44 million; and Ameren Energy Assistance, which received almost $3.3 million, both of St. Louis; and Evergy, an electric utility based in Kansas City, which received $2.75 million, commission records show.
Those companies did not apply directly for SAFHR funds, nor did they receive them directly from the government. Instead, as Spire鈥檚 spokesman Jason Merrill explains, 鈥淟ocal community agencies enter into agreements with the government to qualify people for the assistance, and those agencies then pledge dollars toward the customers鈥� utility bill, following up by sending in a payment on behalf of the customer.鈥� Ameren鈥檚 spokesman issued a similar statement.
If you take the utilities out, nine of the top ten recipients of SAFHR funds are privately owned property managers or landlords located in St. Louis County or the City of St. Louis. The tenth is located in St. Charles County, commission records show.
The top housing recipients were St. Louis Leasing Co., which received $1.56 million, and BBW Homes LLC, which received $1.2 million. Both firms are based in St. Louis County and both specialize in handling rentals for single-family homes.
Pleasant View Gardens 鈥� despite now-former owner Aria Legacy Group鈥檚 well-documented maintenance problems 鈥� is No. 4 on the list of SAFHR recipients.
The funds that Aria Legacy Group received for Pleasant View were not the only money the company got through the SAFHR program. Aria received another nearly $417,000 through the subsidiary that owns the Fountains at Carondelet in south city, another notorious apartment complex that had for years, under Aria鈥檚 control, been the target of complaints about overly aggressive evictions and poor maintenance and repairs.
This past June, ArchCity Defenders filed suit against Fountains Apartment Homes LLC, which bought the complex from Aria Legacy four months earlier.
The new owners filed 44 rent and possession eviction cases over a five-week span, resulting in 36 eviction judgments, the lawsuit says, while an estimated 200 other residents lived in fear of being unlawfully removed from their homes.
Aria Legacy Group鈥檚 success at attracting SAFHR funding illustrates one of the biggest flaws with the program: the fact that funds were awarded with almost zero strings attached, including no provisions to ensure that funded properties provided adequate living conditions.
Since the program was voluntary, and the idea was to distribute it as quickly as possible, SAFHR's federal and state supervisors attached hardly any strings, according to Elad Gross, an attorney who works with tenants facing eviction through the St. Louis Mediation Project.
鈥淪o effectively, I think you saw people handed free money,鈥� says Gross. 鈥淎nd that became a big problem.鈥�
The lack of accountability in federal housing programs is an issue that goes beyond SAFHR, Gross says.
It鈥檚 a problem when landlords are taking money, and 鈥渢hey are not applying it to make sure the area is habitable,鈥� he says, 鈥渢hat they鈥檙e not upholding their end of the bargain.鈥�
In one appalling example, the Riverfront Times recently reported that even a slumlord being sued by the city for running a series of 鈥渋llegal rooming houses鈥� , despite the fact the units she rented out were in condemned buildings.
Brian Vollenweider, an MHDC spokesman, declined to respond directly to criticisms of the program.
鈥淭he SAFHR program was a federal emergency rental assistance program by U.S. Treasury to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥� Vollenweider wrote in an email to the River City Journalism Fund. 鈥淭he program was administered according to federal guidelines as determined by the U.S. Treasury including eligible uses and program requirements.鈥�
A lack of accountability
A review of MHDC records show that it awarded SAFHR dollars in a way that lopsidedly favored St. Louis-area landlords. In addition to boasting all of the top 10 SAFHR recipients, 65 of the top 100 are located in the St. Louis metro area.
This funding disparity became the topic of a Missouri House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in early December on MHDC鈥檚 budget for the upcoming year.
Representative Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City, asked Kip Stetzler, MHDC鈥檚 executive director, to explain why St. Louis received so much in SAFHR funding while Kansas City had not.
鈥淐an you explain why St. Louis area got ... a disproportionate amount of those funds?鈥� Burnett asked. 鈥淚t seems like St. Louis got a good majority, if not more.鈥�
鈥淚f you look at a report and you attempt to determine how much money, how much of this funding went into St. Louis and went into Kansas City by the address of the landlord recipient, it is going to weigh heavily in favor of St. Louis,鈥� Stetzler acknowledged.
鈥淏ecause the landlords live in St. Louis, but the property is somewhere else in the state?鈥� Burnett asked.
鈥淓xactly right,鈥� Stetzler said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly right.鈥�
But MHDC鈥檚 records show that Stetzler鈥檚 explanation is not true.
SAFHR funds were disbursed according to the location of the apartment complex, not the address of the company that owned it, commission records show. So Pleasant View, for example, is listed in Ferguson even though its owners at the time were based in New Jersey.
Stetzler declined to respond to questions about this matter.
Vollenweider, the MHDC spokesman, has also declined to answer questions about SAFHR鈥檚 geographical disparities.
The disparities could perhaps be partly explained in terms of population differences.
St. Louis County, with nearly 1 million residents, is the largest Missouri county. Combined with the 300,000 people in the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis region is the largest-population region in the entire state, comprising more than 20% of the total.
In contrast, Jackson County, where Kansas City is located, has only 700,000 residents.
Even so, Glenn Burleigh, a housing specialist with the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, calls the distribution of SAFHR funds 鈥渙dd.鈥� He attributes the pattern at least in part to St. Louis County setting up 鈥渁 pipeline they sort of worked out with landlords to expedite filing on some things.鈥�
Kennard Williams, the organizing manager for Action St. Louis, one of the region鈥檚 leading tenant rights groups, says some of St. Louis landlords鈥� success getting funds from the program could be credited to door-to-door outreach conducted by his group in apartment complexes where large numbers of people faced eviction.
鈥淲e were doing outreach to the doors of people getting evicted,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淪o we followed up. And we were like, 鈥楧id you get rental assistance?鈥� And a large number of people did not.鈥�
As for Gross, he blames the geographic disparities on the fact that SAFHR funding decisions were not part of a centralized process and did not feature a uniform navigation system to help tenants apply for help. Even though SAFHR money went to the landlords, tenants were responsible for starting the process by filling out online applications and providing supporting documents, such as lease agreements.
鈥淓ach region was essentially dependent on whatever individual nonprofits signed up,鈥� Gross says. 鈥淵ou may have, as a result of that setup, have different geographical results than you would expect.鈥�
Nonetheless, a big flaw in the SAFHR program was the lack of accountability in 2020 and 2021, at the height of the pandemic, according to Williams.
鈥淎nd the way they did it,鈥� Williams says, 鈥渋t left room for super discriminatory practices that were not investigated or followed up on because everybody was facing eviction at that point. And that鈥檚 what they were focused on.鈥�
Burnett said after the hearing that she doesn鈥檛 believe that Stetzler gave the whole story about SAFHR funding.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to get a straight answer,鈥� Burnett said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that there was an accountability structure in place that went to the end use. 鈥� From their perspective, they鈥檙e done at their end. They鈥檙e not responsible for the rest.鈥�
For Missouri Representative Bill Owen, R-Springfield, the disparity in access to high-speed Internet helps explain why SAFHR recipients in urban areas like St. Louis fared better than rural Missouri landlords and tenants.
鈥淟et鈥檚 face it, when you鈥檙e having to [fill out SAFHR applications] on the internet, you basically ruled out a big chunk of outstate Missouri,鈥� Owen says. 鈥淏ecause there鈥檚 no internet service.鈥�
Another big problem with SAFHR was a lack of flexibility, Owen says.
Owen recalls the plight of a disabled woman who lives in a duplex apartment that he owns. The woman suffered from severe health issues and was confined to a Stryker bed, Owen says.
Owen says he tried to help the woman apply for a SAFHR grant, but hit a wall when he called the MHDC help line to try to ask how to submit requested documents.
Owen asked if he could fax the documents. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a fax,鈥� came the reply.
鈥淒o you have someone who can go out to her residence and take the application in person?鈥�
鈥淣o, we don鈥檛 have that,鈥� came the reply. 鈥淏ut she can come down to one of our affiliates.鈥�
鈥淚 go, 鈥楽he鈥檚 in a frickin鈥� Stryker bed,鈥欌�� Owens recalls.
Owen says he believes state leaders should convene a meeting regarding the future of emergency housing aid, with the aim of discussing, in his words, 鈥淲ho is it that we鈥檙e trying to serve here, and what are their needs, and what do we need to make arrangements for to make sure these people can access this program?鈥�
Next, Owen says, state leaders should figure out how to make sure the distribution of programs like SAFHR are 鈥渟pread out through the state and just aren鈥檛 allowed to be concentrated in Kansas City and St. Louis.鈥�
'We just can鈥檛 up and move'
Even before Michael Brown鈥檚 death put what is now Pleasant View Gardens in the national spotlight, repairs and upkeep at the complex had been a problem. But both went noticeably downhill during Aria鈥檚 two years of ownership, according to tenants.
Back in 2021, Aria Managing Principal Joseph Novoseller had told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch his company had intended to invest $2 million into the apartment complex, with plans to rehab up to 150 units and to spend 鈥渉undreds of thousands of dollars鈥� on new roofs.
Those ambitious plans, however, never came to fruition over the next two years, as even the most basic work orders were met with silence.
Gary Jones, 62, has lived in a Pleasant View ground floor apartment for the past 13 years. He suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.
Jones says his health problems have only gotten worse in recent years, and he blames the vacant apartment next door, which is marred by standing water and what appears to be black mold, while a foul sewer stench is impossible to escape.
鈥淭hey won鈥檛 clean it up and they won鈥檛 do nothing,鈥� Jones says.
Angelene Morgan, who lives with Jones, cites water leaks from their apartment tub and underneath the bathroom sink, as well as mold around parts of the floor and ceiling.
鈥淪he goes to the office to put in work orders,鈥� Jones says of Morgan, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 like in one ear and out the other.鈥�
With monthly rent set to rise to more than $700, Jones and Morgan would like a healthier place to live.
鈥淏ut we just can鈥檛 up and move,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e need money to move. The first and last month鈥檚 rent. We need help moving. We don鈥檛 drive.鈥�
Yet despite those poor living conditions, Pleasant View鈥檚 owners have been quick to file evictions. Among those it sought to remove from the complex was Henderson, who was approved for SAFHR funds to subsidize her $640 monthly rent and was on the program until it ran out last January.
Many tenants have told the River City Journalism Fund that they were confused by program rules and encountered problems complying with the application process, which some struggled to navigate on their cell phones. Once approved, they had a hard time keeping track of what the program paid for and what they were still obligated to pay as part of their lease agreements, according to tenants.
That was the case for Henderson as well. She admits to being confused by the program and says she believes she was forced to overpay her rent.
In September 2023, Pleasant View filed an eviction notice against Henderson seeking $1,700 in unpaid rent and other fees. They dismissed the case nearly two months later, St. Louis County court records show.
Many of her neighbors weren鈥檛 so lucky. By the time Aria Legacy Group sold the apartment complex to a new owner in August 2023, at least 190 of 414 units were vacant 鈥� the result of aggressive eviction tactics and poor maintenance that forced many tenants to leave.
(Novoseller, Aria鈥檚 managing principal, defended his company鈥檚 stewardship of the apartment complex during its two years of ownership. 鈥淚 think the property was maintained very well when we owned it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e fixed any issues that came up.鈥�)
But Gerard Gips says a new day is dawning for Pleasant View Gardens鈥� beleaguered tenants. Gips is the regional manager of 2974 Coppercreek Road LLC, the New Jersey-based firm that bought the complex in August. He promises to turn the apartment complex around as part of a massive renovation worth at least several million dollars. Plans call for the installation of new floors, toilets, countertops, water heaters, kitchen appliances and other amenities. As many as eight crews at a time are rehabbing the complex, according to Gips.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pumping in our own equity,鈥� Gips says. 鈥淥ur goal is really to make it a safer and more enjoyable place for the residents.鈥�
Gips declined to comment on Aria Legacy鈥檚 management of Pleasant View, but he acknowledges the apartment complex was in rough shape when his company took over in August.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been essentially turning units that were down-to-the-studs vacant, that were in terrible condition,鈥� he says.
Yet maintenance and repair problems still persist, despite the new ownership group鈥檚 promises.
In December, the apartment complex鈥檚 owners replaced a toilet in Gary Jones鈥� ground floor apartment. One month later, the stench from the vacant apartment next door continues to permeate their apartment, while nothing鈥檚 been done about the bathroom sink that鈥檚 been leaking for more than a month, Turner says.
鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 done nothing except come in and put that toilet in,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat was it.鈥�
Work crews have tried to fix the standing water and stench problem in the apartment, says Gips.
鈥淚t may have returned,鈥� Gips said to a reporter a month after their initial conversation in early December. 鈥淎t one point after our conversation it was definitely handled.鈥�
Gips says up to 20 workers a day are trying to repair things at Pleasant View and are making progress.
鈥淏ut we鈥檙e dealing with so many fires to put out.鈥�
For more on the River City Journalism Fund, which provided funding for this story and seeks to advance local journalism in St. Louis, please see .
