The Biscayne at Cityview and Arbor Court apartments have both been longtime eyesores within a mile of each other.
HOUSTON, Texas — The Biscayne at Cityview Apartments complex may have a famous bay in its name, but its location along a bayou makes it susceptible to frequent flooding.
The City of Houston bought out the complex years ago and will eventually transfer it to the Harris County Flood Control District for use as a detention basin and recreation area.
“Last week, we did vote on starting the process of tear down, which phase one is looking at environmental justice issues,” said District B Houston City Council Member Tarsha Jackson.
She remains uncertain about how long demolition might take.
“As far as a timeline, I don’t know what the timeline is,” said Jackson. “But the most important thing is we’re moving forward.”
The same cannot be said for the former Arbor Court apartments less than a mile away. Christine Krug contacted KHOU 11 News about those.
“It’s a major nuisance,” said Krug.
Krug is glad to know one complex’s fate is fairly sealed while worrying about the other. Multiple fires have broken out since Arbor Court was abandoned. It’s also where we captured dramatic evacuations during the Tax Day Flood of 2016.
The complex is all dried out now but looks shabbier than ever.
“I’ve been in the area five years, and it looked bad five years ago,” said Krug.
Unfortunately, Arbor Court is privately owned by a company with a Dallas address whose been in and out of court over permitting and other issues.
Krug and others hope the city, or some other entity, might be able to take it over someday too.
“You can’t just shuffle it and say ‘It’s Greenspoint,'” said Krug. “Greenspoint’s never going to get better if you don’t do anything to make it better.”
We reached out to an attorney who has represented Arbor Court’s owner but haven’t heard back. Meanwhile, residents are encouraged to call 311 about nuisance properties.