Non-Surgical Knee Pain and Arthritis Specialists in Wilmington Manor, DE

Wilmington's Department of L&I declared the building unfit in mid-December, but temporary fixes were made.

Residents of Wilmington apartment complex urged to relocate due to lack of heating, hot water

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Residents of Herring Manor Apartments in Wilmington, Delaware are being urged to relocate due to a broken HVAC system.

The apartment complex, located on the 2400 block of North Market Street, was recently declared unfit for human habitation due to a lack of heat and hot water.

In a press release sent out Tuesday, Wilmington officials announced the following:

"Wilmington's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) today directed the Union Baptist Community Corporation, the owner of the Herring Manor apartment complex on North Market Street, to immediately find alternative housing for approximately 30 tenants because of a lack of heat and hot water."

The release went on to say, "The City had no choice but to inform the management company and HUD [US Department of Housing and Urban Development] that the building's residents must be relocated by this evening."

Wilmington's Department of L&I declared the building unfit in mid-December, but temporary fixes were made.

"There's no heat in peoples' apartments, people are using radiators and ovens, and it makes us pay a higher electric bill," said tenant Paul Davis.

Some residents say despite the apartment's issues, they fear relocating for several reasons.

"I'm not staying in a hotel for two weeks, that's how you get bed bugs," said tenant Kimberly Sudler.

"Somebody could break into your house and take your furniture, why would I leave my furniture?" Davis questioned.

The 41-unit complex has had a recent history of problems with a malfunctioning heating and hot water system.

Action News spoke with on-site building management, who said vandals stole parts in December and they are currently working with their vendors to fix the problem.

Additionally, they are working to relocate the affected residents, but they can't force people out of their units.

Read the full statement released by Wilmington officials:

"Wilmington's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) today directed the Union Baptist Community Corporation, the owner of the Herring Manor apartment complex on North Market Street, to immediately find alternative housing for approximately 30 tenants because of a lack of heat and hot water. The apartments are managed by AJPC Property Management and tenants' monthly rents are subsidized by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is cooperating with the City and assisting with the relocation of the residents.The 41-unit complex has had a recent history of problems with a malfunctioning heating and hot water system. Before today, the building was most recently declared unfit by L&I in mid-December; however, repairs were made quickly by the management company and residents did not have to be displaced.Late last week, after the latest system failure, the City determined that the management company was not properly addressing the problem. Mayor Mike Purzycki, hoping to avoid tenants having to be displaced, then directed on Friday that the City bring in an HVAC contractor to fix the system. HUD was informed of the City's decision to bring in a private contractor.After several attempts at a permanent fix failed, the contractor told the City today that a short-term repair is not possible without new parts and a service overhaul. With that, the City had no choice but to inform the management company and HUD that the building's residents must be relocated by this evening. HUD directed the management company to relocate the residents and the management company told HUD it is relocating residents to the homes of family members as well as to other available temporary housing, such as hotels and motels, until the heat and hot water system is repaired. The Mayor today thanked HUD for assisting with today's situation at Herring Manor."

Wilmington officials allowed residents of Herring Manor to return to their apartments Friday after condemning the 41-unit apartment complex earlier this week for a lack of heat and hot water.

Wilmington officials said they lifted the Department of Licenses and Inspections’ unfit declaration, but two violation notices remain in place until the building owner and management company make “permanent repairs by the close of business on Monday.”

The apartment’s heating and hot water system was inspected by city officials Friday, and inspectors determined the building safe for residents to return.

The apartment complex, located on North Market Street in Wilmington, provides affordable housing for seniors and those with disabilities. It was condemned by the city Tuesday.

Wilmington building inspectors ordered the owner Union Baptist Community Corp. to find housing for 30 Herring Manor residents as a result. City officials said “only a handful of residents chose to relocate.”

RELATED:Wilmington apartment building declared unfit after owners fail to fix heat, provide hot water

“Prior to this week, the building was declared unfit by (Licenses and Inspections) in mid-December,” a Friday city news release reads. “However, repairs were made quickly by the management company and residents did not have to be displaced.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidized complex is managed by AJPC Property Management, a property management firm that oversees several other federally subsidized housing complexes in Delaware.

Herring Manor’s long-term problems

While city officials said the apartment complex’s problems with heating are a recent development, interviews with tenants indicate a long-term problem.

CODE ENFORCEMENT:Wilmington landlord must pay $33K in fines after failing to repair Adams Street apartments

Herring Manor residents say service for heat and hot water has been unreliable during the cold weather months for years, and in recent months, they’ve gone weeks without heat or hot water.

Wilmington officials said HUD assisted with the relocation of some Herring Manor residents and ensured repairs “were made in a timely fashion.”

A Delaware Online/The News Journal reporter visited the apartment complex on Jan. 4 after receiving complaints about a lack of heat and hot water, and found working heat and hot water in several units.

City Licenses and Inspections records show Herring Manor has received 88 violation notices since 2007. Most “were for water heater issues, faulty plumbing, insect and rodent issues, mold and mildew” and needing to replace electrical outlets and repair walls and ceilings.

HOME RENOS:Amid the housing shortage, why is renovating homes in Wilmington so expensive?

A separate HUD inspection report for the years 2014 to 2019 shows that the building was cited for several violations related to fire protection, electrical hazards and rodents.

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki announces the city's plan to save the Gibraltar mansion and Marian Coffin gardens.

Gibraltar is a historic site in Wilmington’s Highlands neighborhood. It houses the Marian Coffin gardens, named for the famous landscape architect who designed them.

Coffin was an early 20th century landscape architect who took part in the design of the University of Delaware’s campus, as well as other prominent Delaware landmarks.

Purzycki lives directly adjacent to the property in the city’s Highlands neighborhood, and says it’s a valuable community asset currently going to waste.

“For me to look at Gibraltar, in the wretched state that it’s been allowed to exist in in the last 25 years, is unforgivable to me,” said Purzycki.

His plan to save Gibraltar involves public-private ownership, as well as rezoning the property.

The current owners would turn the property over to the city, which would subdivide the property adjacent to the mansion to build 5 single-family homes.

The city will also contract with 9SDC to develop the site - with the garages located near the entrance of the garden being rezoned for commercial use, while the mansion remains residential.

Both of those points of the plan have made residents wary, though Purzycki notes this compromise with current owners will help improvements to the site get underway much faster, which is needed for the deteriorating mansion and gardens.

Puzycki also promises strong public management and oversight of the entire process.

“There's no chance that I would let anything be built over there that I didn’t personally take to a process of approval, not just me, but make sure that it works to the community, and that it kind of blends in with the community. So that would be number one,” he explained. “The other thing is, yeah, I think I would be very involved in what kind of uses are allowed in the garages.”

The city is partnering with local preservationists to assure that no major changes are made to the mansion or the gardens.

While discussions are ongoing, the plan states the historic gardens will be improved and maintained by agreement by the city, 9SDC and Preservation Delaware.

The gardens will remain free to the public.

Read Mayor Purzycki's letter to residents below:

Wilmington city officials have dropped their bid to demolish a historic mansion in Browntown and replace it with a development of up to 40 townhouses.

In an emailed message Thursday to members of the John A. Brown Mansion Task Force, Herb M. Inden, the city’s director of planning and development, said “demolition is not currently being considered for this property [and] we do not have any developer interest that we are considering at this time.”

Inden’s message was sent a day after about 35 Browntown residents and preservation advocates met outside the mansion on Seventh Avenue to rally in support of their efforts.

“We are interested in your ideas for adaptive reuse as well as housing ideas for the surrounding property, and of course, how this all could be funded,” Inden wrote.

“This is our first win. They’re willing to discuss with us,” said Vince Watchorn, a member of the task force, which formed in the wake of a February hearing of the city’s Design Review and Preservation Commission in which city officials sought approval for demolishing the mansion as the first step toward a redevelopment plan that could lead to the construction of townhouses on the site. After hearing concerns from residents and preservationists and noting that the city had not met all requirements of the law, the commission deferred action on the city’s request.

The task force, Watchorn said, is a collaboration of individuals with interrelated priorities. Some want the mansion preserved because of its history, others are concerned about the impact of a major construction project in the neighborhood, and others would like to see the mansion transformed into a facility for community use. Members are not opposed to construction of some new housing, but they do not support anything near the 40 units previously contemplated by the city, he said.

On March 31, the task force, organized with the support of the Preservation Delaware nonprofit, sent a letter to Mayor Mike Purzycki, members of City Council and an array of city, New Castle County and state officials. The letter stated that the group wanted to “encourage a design that includes the mansion in a format that is part of a larger vision.” The letter cited three distinct concerns: historic preservation, respect for the needs and interests of Browntown residents and making the mansion the centerpiece of a revitalized community.

“Our hope is a win-win-win solution that will work for Browntown, the city budget, and the preservation of this important historical resource,” Watchorn wrote to Inden on Thursday, on behalf of the task force.

“We’ve stepped back after listening to previous concerns,” John Rago, Purzycki’s deputy chief of staff, said Friday. “We are open to ideas about preserving the mansion as well as housing proposals that are compatible with neighborhood needs. This effort is focused entirely on the best way to preserve and strengthen a proud city neighborhood.”

The mansion, built about 200 years ago, was named “The Anchorage,” by its second owner, John Gallagher, a Navy captain who served in the War of 1812. The Browntown neighborhood derives its name from the mansion’s fourth owner, Dr. John A. Brown, who lived there from 1848 to 1856 and was known as a humanitarian who operated hospitals and was dedicated to improving the lives of the physically and mentally ill.

In his message, Inden hinted that the city would like to avoid delays in developing new plans for the site. “We do not want this property to languish like Gibraltar still is,” he wrote, referring to the former H. Rodney Sharp mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington. Its condition has deteriorated since it last had permanent residents in 1991. Preservation Delaware owned the property from 1997 to 2010 but was unable to put together a successful redevelopment plan.

Andre Lamar

The owner of the House of Laffs comedy lounge wasn’t joking when he recently announced his business officially closed after a nearly two-year run in Wilmington with big entertainers.

Owner U’Gundi Jacobs broke the news in a lengthy post on his personal Facebook page on Dec. 14.

“I have intentionally been quiet lately as I heal and navigate through the recent closing of Wilmington's Premier Comedy Lounge & Event Center ... House of Laffs,” Jacobs wrote.

The post came weeks after Jacobs was evicted from the Wilmington building at 1206 N. Union St.

His landlords Frank Pagliaro, owner of the neighboring business FranksWine, and his wife, Colleen, told Delaware Online/The News Journal that they didn’t have any other choice but to take Jacobs to court. They said he owes $270,000 in back rent, plus other fees such as legal, utilities, water and sewage, real estate tax and insurance.

The final show at the House of Laffs went out with a bang with headline comedian Tommy Davidson of “In Living Color” fame on Nov. 27.

Costly renovations and the pandemic doomed the comedy club

In April 2019, Jacob signed a sublease that took effect in May 2019. The contract was through 2039.

Jacobs, a seasoned veteran who began promoting comedy shows over 30 years ago, said he dug himself into a financial hole early on, and the pandemic took the situation from bad to ugly overnight.

The Wilmington native said his original plan was to renovate the building and open for business around the holiday season in 2019. But after signing the lease, Jacobs said, he had trouble getting materials and ran into other unexpected problems during the renovations.

New comedy lounge: It aims to tickle Wilmington

The landlords said they tried to help him cut down on his renovation expenses by not charging him rent for the first six months of his lease. Jacobs said he spent $400,000 to renovate the club.

The House of Laffs opened Super Bowl Sunday in February 2021. But the venue was operating under COVID-19 restrictions.

Jacobs said his biggest hurdle in running the House of Laffs was battling the pandemic. There were COVID-19 restrictions, plus he noticed many people still were cautious about returning to entertainment venues.

For a short time, his business was the premier comedy lounge in Wilmington.

He attracted big names like comedians Michael Blackson; brothers Joe and Guy Torry; Pierre Edwards; and Sommore, one of the Queens of Comedy.

In 2021, he hosted a packed house for the NBA draft party of Wilmington native Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland. The place went crazy when the Denver Nuggets drafted Bones with the 26th pick in the first round.

This past spring the House of Laffs was featured on an episode of NBC’s new “American Song Contest,” a singing competition that featured soul-rock singer Nitro Nitra, a fellow Wilmington native.

He said his business didn't start to turn a corner until September of 2022. But by that time it was too late.

Meanwhile, Jacobs said he's staying positive. He was recently networking in Texas about looking into the possibility of future ventures. But he didn't have anything set in stone.

More entertainment stories

Before the House of Laffs: Lots of Wilmington clubs were in this location

Delaware's NYE ideas for 2023:Here are 15 cool ways to celebrate the New Year, including a rooftop party

'Clerks' legend Kevin Smith: He shows love to Wilmington actress starring in QVC holiday film

Delaware actor: He clowns around in new Tom Hanks film

University of Delaware TikTok star: Sings with Straight No Chaser on ABC's 'GMA3'

31,000 Christmas lights: This Delaware home shimmers like crazy

Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at [email protected].