(Updated at 11 a.m. on June 29) U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine sent a letter to CIM Group highlighting the concerns of residents regarding evictions, increased rents and living conditions at their Southern Towers Apartments complex.

In a letter Monday, the Virginia Democrats urged the building owner to resolve long standing disputes with residents. Since buying the property at the height of the pandemic in 2020, residents have protested against evictions, claiming that CIM Group has raised rents and evicted hundreds of residents from deteriorating properties.

“Tenants have shared with our offices that, under CIM ownership, they have been subjected to eviction filings during the eviction moratorium, changes in how utilities are billed combined with rent increases that have led to substantial price hikes, and unaddressed maintenance issues that pose health and safety risks,” the senators wrote. “Further, tenants have voiced that CIM issued unclear eviction notices indicating that tenants who were late on their rent payments had only five days to ‘pay rent or, alternatively, to terminate lease and vacate premises’ – only mentioning later in the notice that tenants located on a ‘covered property’ as defined by the CARES Act were entitled to a 30-day notice before vacating.”

Protests against CIM Group have been led by the People’s Actions Homes Guarantee campaign and African Communities Together (ACT), which say that Southern Towers residents are at the mercy of a major private equity landlord that only cares about profit.

Consequently, last month Southern Towers also got a visit from the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

CIM Group says that they only 31 residents have been evicted due to non-payment, and that living conditions have improved under their ownership.

CIM Group sent ALXnow the following statement:

CIM Group has long been a proud member of the Alexandria, VA community as the owner and operator of several properties, including Southern Towers where the firm took over operations in 2020. It was immediately clear to Southern Towers Management that they needed to address years of deferred maintenance and make important quality-of-life improvements to the development including long-overdue roof replacements; renovation of apartments, corridors, and common areas; resurfacing parking areas and tennis courts; new playgrounds and much more.

While Southern Towers is not an affordable housing community, CIM Group has worked diligently to keep rent 20% below comparable properties in Alexandria, while at the same time, making significant improvements to the habitability of Southern Towers. Residents have always paid a portion of their utilities and continue to be responsible for the costs they incur.

Southern Towers Management has never violated the CARES Act or any local, state or Federal laws. In fact, CIM Group is legally required to utilize a form provided by the State of Virginia–referred to as a 5-Day Notice–to notify residents when they are in arrears. CIM Group has no control over the language used in the form and any call for modifications should be directed to the State of Virginia.

Despite much disinformation, Southern Towers Management will not be deterred from their commitment to the community they serve, their legal obligation and the fiduciary duty the company has to investors who have also helped improve the living conditions at Southern Towers from what existed prior to CIM Group’s ownership.

CIM Group has made significant improvements for the overall wellbeing of the residents at Southern Towers, including:

1. Providing assistance during the pandemic to residents who suffered financial setbacks that resulted in more than $5 million in rental assistance secured for hundreds of families.
2. Increasing the level of regular maintenance well beyond what was the norm under the prior owner by 96%, which is more than $8.2M to address significant deferred maintenance issues.
3. Instituting an online resident portal that provides transparent and open communication, as well as a seamless way for residents to submit work orders, which expedites necessary repair and maintenance.
4. Prioritizing community involvement by organizing farmers markets, job fairs, food drives, and vaccination clinics.
5. Engaging residents in a transparent and ongoing way by holding monthly meetings and appreciation events, as well as communicating important dates and information in the resident portal, as well as the weekly and monthly newsletters.

Fostering a secure and healthy environment by:

1. Installing security cameras in each elevator landing in each tower and upgrading cameras on the lobby level in each tower. The entire project is anticipated to be completed by the end of July 2024.
2. Upgrading all smoke detectors and replacing every unit on the campus with smoke detector/CO2 combo units.
3. Repairing the retaining wall near the Ashlawn.
4. Installing Flock Security – license plate reading cameras installed at each entrance to the property.
5. Upgrading the fire alarm panel at Sherwood.
6. Purchasing a new Jeep for patrolling the campus.
7. Performing a thorough Pest Control inspection and preventative treatments of all common areas and every apartment home as well as sealing of any holes found during the inspection.

Making material upgrades to improve the quality of living at Southern Towers:

1. Making significant laundry room upgrades, including purchasing new washer and dryer equipment for each floor at every building. The new equipment also included upgraded payment panel allowing residents the option to use cash, credit/debit cards or an app to pay for service.
2. Enhancing and upgrading the dog park.
3. Tennis Court resurfacing, striping and new nets. Upgrade also included replacing the solo player wall.
4. Resurfacing the overflow parking area.
5. Asphalt resurfacing at Beauregard entrance near The Graham and Monticello.
6. Replacing all of the playground equipment.
7. Beautifying the property including removing 26 dead or rotting trees from the campus and pruned trees in the community park to raise tree canopy by 3 feet, allowing better sight lines.
8. Replacing 4 outdoor gas grills at Graham.
9. Installing new grilling areas throughout the community park.
10. Expanding concrete pads at grilling areas which include new accessible seating.
11. Installing a new pergola over the grilling area closest to the Monticello pool.
12. Complete resurfacing of the Monticello main and small pools.
13. HVAC convector project completed at the Sherwood.
14. HVAC system inspections completed across the campus.
15. Window and Balcony door mock-ups completed at Ashlawn and Monticello. Each building scheduled for full window replacement byQ4 2023.

The full letter from Warner and Kaine is below. Read More

The Mount Vernon Avenue bridge is a vital link between Alexandria and Arlington, but it’s in rough shape and in desperate need of a refit.

The Arlington Ridge Road/Mount Vernon Avenue bridge over Four Mile Run in rough shape and this morning (Friday) Senator Mark Warner and local leaders met with engineers to review the state of the bridge and advocate for the bridge to get a significant boost from federal funding. Federal funding for bridge infrastructure is currently in the hands of state leaders who will allocate funding to bridge projects around the state.

Greg Emanuel, director of the Department of Environmental Services for Arlington County, led Warner and other leaders on a tour of the bridge and highlighted where the issues are. On the Arlington side of the bridge, where the Four Mile Run trail runs beneath the bridge, Emanuel said the superstructure of the bridge will require replacement to the tune of around $28 million.

The nearby West Glebe Road Bridge is in a similar state of disrepair and Emanuel said Alexandria and Arlington are working together for bridge replacement over the course of this year and into 2023. Once that’s completed, Emanuel said Arlington and Alexandria will turn their attention to the Mount Vernon Avenue bridge in the 2024-2025 timeframe.

Emanuel said the current bridge is comprised of stacked slabs of concrete that are difficult to inspect without taking the bridge apart. While the piers and abutments holding up the bridge will remain, an inspection in 2018 found that parts of the roadway superstructure have deteriorated and need to be replaced with a steel bridge — which Emanuel noted will also be easier to inspect.

As part of a new infrastructure bill, Virginia is receiving $537 million for bridge repair. Of the bridge replacement’s $28 million estimated budget, up to 80% of that can be paid for from the federal funding that the state is currently divvying up.

“What we don’t want in Virginia is what happened in Pittsburgh a week ago,” said Warner. “Help is on its way for additional funding.”

Local leaders said more state and federal support for the bridge repair projects would be greatly appreciated.

“Bridges are about connecting communities,” said Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol. “We do have a plan to address [the bridge repair] but could use federal support. This project will make a big difference and improve connectivity between low-income communities.”

Alexandria City Council member John Chapman said he grew up around the area and saw little difference as a local between the Alexandria and Arlington sides of Four Mile Run. Chapman said residents on both side of Four Mile Run need to be able to move seamlessly from one side to the other.

“This is a great opportunity to show we caught something before it became a problem,” said City Council member Sarah Bagley. “Inspections are vital.”

Emanuel said localities are currently waiting for more announcements from the state on how the federal funding will be allocated, but Emanuel said the bridges that are in poor condition — which the Mount Vernon Avenue bridge qualifies as — will be first in line for funding.

Despite Gov. Glenn Youngkin getting a less-than-warm reception in Alexandria yesterday, Jennifer Deci, Youngkin’s Deputy Secretary of Transportation, was a welcome presence at the tour and said that state leadership was eager to work with federal and local partners to fund bridge projects and seek more infrastructure funding from the federal government.

Deci said the timeline for allocating the bridge funding is still being worked out, but will likely be sometime in the first half of this year.

It was a clear and slightly brisk Saturday afternoon (Dec. 4) in Old Town for the Campagna Center’s 50th Scottish Christmas Walk Parade.

The parade, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic, is one of the most popular events in the city.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner was the grand marshal, and along with the mayor and other local dignitaries, waved at dozens of Scottish clans and bagpiping groups, including the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums.