Iconic St. Paul apartments are headed into foreclosure, leaving residents scrambling

ST. PAUL, Minn. — An iconic Downtown St. Paul apartment building is going into foreclosure, and residents say they’re in shock.
To hear some of them tell it, the Lowry Apartments across from St. Paul City Hall have been deteriorating for years.
“The building’s full of mold, sheetrock falling down, filth all over the carpets,” said Nelson Hill, who’s lived at the Lowry for more than two years. “Very unsanitized. Unsafe to live in.”
Revis Wells, who’s lived there for four years, described roach and mice infestations among other poor living conditions.
The front entrance has a boarded-up window and shattered glass in the doorframe.
The building was listed for sale in the spring, but a July notice in the St. Paul Legal Ledger says it’s being sold off in a foreclosure auction next week.
According to Ramsey County, “notice directly to tenants is required at least four weeks” before an auction.
“No one’s given us no kind of notice, no kind of paperwork,” Hill said.
Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega, who represents Downtown St. Paul, says it was illegal for the residents not to be advised about the foreclosure.
“It’s my job to give them the resources of how we can communicate that to the office of the attorney general, who’s the people’s lawyer, to advocate and hold these landlords accountable,” Perez-Vega said.
The situation is taking a heavy toll on residents WCCO spoke to.
“We haven’t heard anything, so where can we go?” Revis Wells said. “We got nowhere to go. You can’t just jump up and move. It takes time to find a place.”
Hill says he’s emotionally distraught.
“A lot of nights I miss sleep and everything just thinking about it,” he said. “I don’t know what the next move is.”
The owners of the building, Madison Equities, didn’t immediately return any of WCCO’s messages. The agent on the listing said he was unable to comment.
Tenants going through foreclosure have the right to stay in their homes for six months following an auction sale. They must receive two months notice before being evicted.