The heat has been out for more than a month in a large part of the historic Alden Towers apartment complex on Detroit’s east riverfront, forcing tenants in 98 units to warm their homes with space heaters in a building that has a growing list of safety and maintenance problems.
The city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) issued an emergency correction order on Nov. 24 after inspecting the four-tower complex and confirming that one tower lost heat on Nov. 4. Tenants say building management, Friedman Real Estate, didn’t turn on the heat until Nov. 1, weeks after temperatures dropped, and it went out three days later. Tenants still have no heat in the A Tower.
On Tuesday, one day after Metro Times contacted the city about the outage, Detroit began issuing $2,000 fines to the building’s owner, Alden Towers Holding Company LLC, and will continue writing tickets every day until heat is restored. The city is also weighing legal action.
“We have been aware of isolated heat complaints in one of the towers at Alden Towers but were unaware of it being a widespread issue until just recently,” BSEED spokesperson Georgette Johnson told Metro Times in a statement Tuesday. “Last week, we wrote an emergency correction order for the landlord to address the issues. As of Monday, the issue still had not been fixed. This is unacceptable. Yesterday, we issued tickets to the owner in the amount of $2,000 and will continue to write tickets daily until the issue is addressed and tenants have reliable heat. We also are working with the Law Department on potential legal action against the owner of the building.”
In May 2023, a three-alarm fire ripped through the B Tower after a candle fell in one of the units, sending thick black smoke through hallways and trapping residents. Tenants say some alarms never sounded. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation.
Now, tenants say they’ve been told to rely on multiple space heaters to stay warm because management cannot provide heat. Temperatures are expected to plummet to single digits this weekend.
“I have three space heaters. My son lives here with me,” one long-time tenant who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation tells Metro Times. “They were super late turning the heat on this season. We were already freezing on Halloween.”
Tenants are worried the space heaters will significantly increase their electric bills and potentially cause a fire.
Another tenant, who has lived in the building for about seven years, says he has trouble working because his apartment is so frigid.
“It’s been so cold,” he says. “I got home from business and it was freezing and I couldn’t even work. I have two space heaters.”
Tenants have posted handwritten signs on the hallways, encouraging residents to reach out to the city.
In a statement to Metro Times on Tuesday, Friedman Real Estate said the outage was caused by a failed boiler and circulation pump and that a temporary solution is in the works.
”A custom replacement circulation pump is already on order and is scheduled for delivery and installation in mid-January,” the statement read. “In the meantime, ownership has authorized the rapid deployment and installation of a temporary boiler to restore heat as quickly as possible. Supplemental heating is also available upon request, and our property management team is working closely with both the City and mechanical specialists to stabilize heating throughout the building as quickly as possible.”
Tenants countered that the ”supplemental heating,” meaning space heaters, has already ran out and is no longer available.
The owner did not return calls for comment.
Since August 2024, the city has cited the owner at least six times for a total of $1,600 in fines for violations ranging from failing to obtain a certificate of compliance and maintain clean, sanitary conditions to ignoring unsafe building conditions, broken fire-safety doors, and required safety equipment that wasn’t working.
One tenant says her family, including her baby, has developed significant health problems caused by mold in their unit. She says the building has not addressed the issue despite repeated complaints.
On Tuesday, Metro Times spotted dumpsters outside Alden Towers that were so overfilled that trash was heaped above the lids and spilling down the sides, with bags, boxes, and loose debris scattered across the snowy ground.
Alden Towers, originally built in 1922 and once considered one of the most distinctive apartment complexes on the Detroit River, now faces a long list of complaints, including broken elevators, mold, flooding, overflowing trash, roach infestations, unsafe hallways, and a management company that tenants say is indifferent and punitive.
Residents say the decline began after the building was purchased in 2019 by Alden Towers Holding Company LLC, a company tied to Belfor Holdings Inc., according to tax and state property records and a previous report from Crain’s Detroit that lists a Belfor executive as a member of the LLC.
“It went extremely downhill,” one tenant says. “You can tell they don’t care. Previously it was calm and quiet. As soon as they let their guard down, they let in anyone. It changed the culture of the people living there.”
Maintenance issues have been piling up, tenants say.
“One of the biggest things is the elevators,” a tenant says. “They break down on a weekly basis. Sometimes both of them break down at the same time. What happens to people who are handicapped? There are no fire escapes.”
Several tenants say management has responded to complaints by refusing to renew leases, forcing outspoken residents out. One tenant says her lease was not renewed after she repeatedly contacted the city about problems in the building. She has lived there nine years.
“They said they refused to renew it,” she says. “I had to file a counterclaim against them. I’ve never paid rent late. I’ve never had complaints or violations of my lease.”
The threats of eviction stretch back at least a year or two. In a Metro Times story chronicling the problems at Alden Towers in April 2024, a resident said she was threatened with eviction after raising concerns about safety and sanitation. Other residents described poor conditions, from lack of heat and hot water to broken elevators and roaches.
It has only gotten worse since, tenants say, accusing the city of not taking quicker and more drastic action.
“It’s like being stuck,” the long-time tenant says. “The city is kind of scared to hold them accountable because they don’t want to scare away investors.”
With nearly 400 units across four eight-story towers, Alden Towers is home to seniors, working families, disabled residents, and lower-income tenants. According to census data cited by a resident, 22% of tenants live below the poverty line.
“We have vulnerable, elderly people here,” one resident says. “A lot of our residents are either really young or really old. A lot of them are SSI recipients.”
Without functioning heat, many tenants say they are worried about winter conditions and the risk of using space heaters in a century-old building that already experienced a major fire.
“Now you have a bunch of tenants with space heaters, which are potential hazards,” a tenant says.
Originally built as the Berman Apartments, Alden Towers features crenellated limestone rooflines, ornate brickwork, courtyards, and sweeping river views. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Its current website describes it as a boutique, modern riverfront community.
Tenants say the description is nothing like what they’ve experienced.
“It used to be a nice place to live and a good community,” a tenant says. “Now most people are trying to move.”
The long-time tenant who keeps three space heaters says she is leaving this month after nine years. She considers herself lucky.
“If I didn’t know where I was moving to, this would be a lot worse,” she says. “I love and care about my neighbors, and I really feel bad for them.”
Metro Times could not reach the owner or management company for comment.
Alden Towers is just the latest historic building in Detroit to face repercussions for neglect and deplorable conditions. The historic Leland House in downtown Detroit is on the verge of getting shut down because of delinquent DTE Energy bills and decades of neglect.
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