ST. LOUIS 鈥 Residents of the downtown Ely Walker Building are accusing the landlords that control it of allowing insurance coverage to lapse on the troubled 174-unit structure.
Ely Walker condominium owners, in a long-running lawsuit against the building鈥檚 condo board and the company that owns a majority of the building鈥檚 units, have asked a judge to order the condo board to immediately get insurance for the building as required by state law.
The condo board鈥檚 鈥渙ngoing repudiation of its obligation to maintain insurance coverage constitutes a grave and ongoing threat to Plaintiffs鈥 welfare,鈥 several condominium owners said in a motion for a temporary restraining order filed Sept. 7.
Kristin Denbow, a condo owner and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in an affidavit filed with the court that she contacted the board鈥檚 former insurance agency and was told that the policy lapsed July 12.
People are also reading…
The board knew for nearly two months the policy was ending. The insurance agency informed the Ely Walker condo board on April 24 that it would not renew the policy, according to an email from the agency shared with the Post-Dispatch.
It鈥檚 the latest allegation of mismanagement against controversial landlords Vic Alston and Sid Chakraverty, the brothers behind Asprient Properties, Lux Living and . They and their businesses have faced years of criticism from tenants in their properties across the city.
On Tuesday, Ira Berkowitz, a lawyer for the brothers, said the condo association bought a new insurance policy last week. Obtaining insurance for condominium associations is very difficult right now, he said.
鈥淓ither insurance is not available or it is incredibly expensive,鈥 Berkowitz said.
Elia Ellis, a lawyer for the condo board, said coverage lapsed after its previous insurer declined to renew the policy. He echoed that 鈥渕any of the regular insurers鈥 exited the market for condo insurance.
鈥淭his caused the market to shrink, making it difficult and much more expensive for condominium鈥檚 locally and across the country to obtain replacement coverage,鈥 Ellis said in an email. 鈥淎s a result, the process of obtaining coverage took much longer than anyone would like.鈥
Ely Walker tenants and condo owners say mismanagement and cost cutting since an Alston company bought a majority of Ely Walker units, giving the brothers control of the condo board, has devastated the building at 1520 Washington Avenue. When the historic building opened after an extensive rehab 15 years ago, lofts there sold for around $300,000. Now, many are listed at less than half that.
Residents have complained about broken fire alarms, leaky pipes and unauthorized short-term rentals. A short-term rental party in an Alston-owned unit led to a 2022 shooting in the lobby, though Alston鈥檚 attorney later said that the unit was listed as a short-term rental without his knowledge.
The city tagged the building as a nuisance and threatened legal action to force the condo board to beef up security, but tenants say conditions haven鈥檛 improved.
The insurance coverage lapse threatened to make condo units impossible to sell, even if the owners were willing to take a significant haircut.
Erika Knolmayer, lead plaintiff in the years-old suit against the condo board, discovered the building insurance lapse when she was under contract last month to sell her Ely Walker unit.
She, her real estate agent and the lender for the buyer spent weeks trying to obtain proof of insurance on the building, required for condo sales. Members of the condo board, made up of Chakraverty and Alston associates, never produced it.
鈥淭he whole deal got killed by not having building insurance,鈥 Knolmayer said.
While individual condo owners have their own insurance, the association needs insurance to cover common areas and the building as a whole, including major systems such as plumbing, and liability from claims from any injuries in building common areas, or even pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Late last month, Alston and Chakraverty put 鈥 about 200 units in four buildings, including Ely Walker 鈥 on the market.