Judge expects to approve Mon View Heights sale

The West Mifflin apartment complex has long been the target of nuisance complaints.

By PAULA REED WARD
TribLive

A judge Thursday said she anticipates approving the sale of the troubled Mon View Heights apartment complex in West Mifflin, a move that supporters say would preserve affordable housing.

Concerns were raised earlier this week that the deal was potentially endangered because of an attempt by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to dictate how some of the sale proceeds should be used.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Chelsa Wagner said she would issue an order on the matter in the next seven to 10 days.

Wagner announced her timetable following a hearing in which all parties agreed that the pending $7.5 million sale ought to go through. It would come at a steep loss for the owners, but the price also represents the most lucrative offer yet received for the property.

A separate request from the DA’s office to divert more than $1 million from the sales proceeds to make improvements to Mon View was not considered Thursday. Instead, it will be the subject of a hearing before another judge, Jill E. Rangos, in a criminal court hearing on Aug. 28.

The West Mifflin low-income housing community has, for years, been the site of decaying living conditions.

In 2024, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. filed criminal charges against Mon View’s owners for creating a public nuisance. Among the allegations: the property was unsafe, sewage was running in the streets, and it was a haven for criminal activity.

The owners, Mon View Apts. LLC, bought the property for $17 million in 2022.

But during inspections in the summer of 2024, according to the DA’s office, 96 of 129 units failed. There were missing windows, leaking pipes, collapsed ceilings and numerous other problems.

In November 2024, Merchants Bank of Indiana, which held the mortgage for Mon View Apts. LLC., filed a foreclosure action in Allegheny County. A month later, the court placed the property in receivership.

In May, the receiver filed a motion asking the court to approve a sale of Mon View, along with Gallatin Apartments in Uniontown, Palisades Manor in Rankin and Valley Royal Court in New Kensington, for a total purchase price of $11 million.

The buyer, Camber Property Group, which is based in New York and specializes in affordable housing, intends to keep the property affordable, which the parties agreed on Thursday is essential for the community.

“This sale preserves affordable housing in the region,” said attorney Kirk Burkley, who represents the receiver. “This is not only the highest but the best offer we’ve received.”

The buyers, he said, are committed to improving the quality of life in the community.

No one from Camber attended the hearing, and a message left by Trib-Live Thursday was not immediately returned.

Burkley told the court that since filing the mortgage foreclosure, Merchants Bank has invested more than $3.5 million in the Mon View property, including paying $1 million in past due taxes and insurance, as well as making some improvements to the property.

But, he continued, if the sale is delayed, the bank may be forced to walk away and cut its losses.

“Every day this goes on, the bank is continuing to fund these properties,” Burkley said.

That, he continued, is diminishing the bank’s returns.

“This sale is in the best interest of all shareholders,” Burkley said.

The DA’s stance

Whether the sale would progress came into question this week. Last month, the DA’s office filed a petition for a temporary restraining order in criminal court that would divert more than $1 million of the sale proceeds to “remedy the public nuisance,” to include adding security cameras, demolishing four buildings and repairing the sewer system.

However, attorneys representing Merchants said in a separate court filing last week that the DA’s office did not have jurisdiction to take those funds.

Instead, the sale proceeds should go only to the mortgage holder, they said.

That issue was not addressed Thursday, although West Mifflin borough raised additional questions about recouping money it feels it is owed by Mon View’s owners.

Attorney Phil DiLucente told the court that he believes the borough is entitled to recover nearly $600,000 in judgments it obtained against Mon View Apts. LLC in 2024 for various code violations including failure to maintain fire hydrants, sanitation and unsafe structures.

However, Burkley said during the hearing that the borough never placed liens on the property to protect those judgments. Even if it had, he continued, they would not trump the mortgage holder.

“The sale needs to go through, and proceeds will flow through the bank first,” he said.

But, he added, “Nothing stops West Mifflin or the DA’s office from going after the previous owners.”

Assistant District Attorney Jon Pittman told the court Thursday that his office was not taking a position on the sale. Instead, its only goal in the case is to ensure that the nuisance at Mon View Heights is abated.

“My job is to protect the citizens of Allegheny County,” Pittman said.

Even though the DA’s office filed its action nearly two years ago, he continued, the property would still not pass occupancy inspections today.

“The nuisance still exists,” Pittman said. “We’ve been patient.”

Tenants support sale

The prosecutor told the court he doesn’t care who fixes the problems at Mon View, but someone must.

That feeling was shared by the other parties represented at the hearing, including the tenants and Allegheny County.

Attorney Anne Puluka, who represents the tenants, said her clients support the sale and have already had productive discussions with Camber.

“The tenants are really trying to prevent a mass displacement,” Puluka said.

With 162 units, she added, “it would be disastrous.”

Alisa Carr, who represents Allegheny County, agreed.

“The county’s priority is maintaining and preserving affordable housing,” she said.

West Mifflin Borough Councilwoman Carla Payne-Harrison, who attended the hearing, said afterward that she’d like to see some actual progress at the property in making improvements.

Payne-Harrison grew up in Mon View Heights in the 1980s and ’90s and has watched the decline over the last 25 years.

“I’m encouraged, but not all the way sold,” she said. “There are people struggling, suffering.”

DiLucente agreed. “We want to ensure the residents are living in habitable conditions,” he said.

Burkley, the receiver’s representative, said after the hearing that he was pleased with how it unfolded.

“Today’s a huge step forward in getting the sale closed and keeping them engaged.”