Timeline: What Led To The Abandonment Of Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments In Tulsa?

In 2021, the Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa faced a series of issues leading to its abandonment.

In July 2021, the Tulsa Fire Marshal declared the complex unsafe due to extensive fire code violations and flood damage, forcing families to vacate 160 units. According to inspectors, the apartments had missing sheetrock in numerous units, which posed serious fire hazards. Several units had extensive water damage, and many were missing entire walls.

In August, owners agreed to a $400,000 settlement with former tenants who were forced out of the complex.

FULL TIMELINE: What Happened To The Vista Shadow Apartments?

For years before the complex was abandoned, the Vista Shadow Apartments at 61st and Memorial were described by some city leaders as a "longtime nuisance."

In 2020, Tulsa Police described the complex as a hot spot for crime, largely because of all the empty apartments and the lack of security and accountability from the complex's management. Police claimed there were several instances of people breaking into vacant units and squatting.

According to police records, between July 2018 and September 2019, officers were called out to Vista Shadow Mountain 166 times. They made 53 arrests during those 13 months and had 98 other incidents.

"When you have a high-crime or high-traffic area, those crimes do spread out into the surrounding areas, you do have neighborhoods that will see petty crimes starting out because it's an overflow for that complex,” TPD Officer Jeanne Pierce said in 2020.

Water Issue Forces Several Residents Out

In May 2021, the City of Tulsa said the owners of Vista at Shadow Mountain owed more than $100,000 in unpaid water bills. Some tenants expressed their concerns that the water was going to be shut off and that June several residents were told they would have to move out.

One resident described the feeling of coming home to see the notice on her door from the Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments.

“What's going through my mind is, what am I going to do?” she asked.

The notice said that after an inspection, the property had been declared unfit to live in and she had to be out by July 1.

“Basically, give us less than 30 days to move out just seems a little abrupt,” Byford said.

That July, leasing agents at the complex said they paid the more than $100,000 past due water bill and that many residents would be able to stay, though some still had to leave. At that time, hundreds of apartments were being renovated for water damage.

Vista Shadow Mountain Assistant Manager Destiny Murley said they had some pipes burst during the previous winter, forcing them to move some residents, but y, they didn't have room for all of them. Murley said that 164 out of 592 units were not damaged, but they didn't have space for everyone. That's why some residents received a 30-day notice on their doors.

Tulsa Fire Department Orders All Residents Of Vista Shadow Apartments Out; Location Declared Unsafe

Just two days after the management at the Vista Shadow Apartments paid off the overdue water bill, all of the remaining residents were told they had to move out within two weeks.

The Tulsa Fire Department ordered the owners of Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments to clear out residents by July 21, 2021, because of unsafe conditions in the complex. At the time, fire marshals estimated that roughly 200 people lived in the complex, which was mostly vacant.

Many of the buildings had water damage, mold, and exposed wiring. Some occupied apartments were without walls or ceilings.

“I've done a survey of several buildings, and the things I've seen, it's come to a critical point that the city has to do something,” said Assistant Fire Marshal Captain Lorenzer Holmes in 2021.

With only 12 days' notice, many of the residents were short of options for relocation. Several volunteers and Tulsa charities came forward to help the residents move out and find resources. However, some residents and volunteers told News On 6 that workers changed gate codes so volunteers couldn't help families move out. Others said informational packets on emergency housing were taken from the front doors and thrown in the trash.

On July 21, the fire department extended the deadline by two days for residents to move out. Months after all residents at the Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments were forced out, many were still living in hotels and struggling to find a new home.

6 Investigates: Tracking Down The Owners Of The Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments

By October 2021, the apartments had been cleared out, but there was still no clear plan for what would happen to the vacant complex. Through its investigation, News On 6 found that the company is so buried in LLCs, it was difficult to find out who was really in charge.

The owners of the property, 3 Points Realty Group, are based in New Jersey, with a portfolio including apartment complexes in Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York City. Founder and CEO Michael Sabo would not interview with News On 6. His team hired Stephen Gray with Sterling Oaks Law Firm in Broken Arrow. Gray declined numerous requests for an in-person interview.

“If you checked, if you looked around and you checked every apartment complex in the city that was older of whatever this, I'm absolutely convinced, having been a real estate attorney, that these types of issues are not unique to any one particular complex,” Gray said over the phone.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments

A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of those who lived at Vista Shadow Mountain in July of 2021, on Aug. 12, 2024, the owners agreed to a $400,000 settlement with former tenants.

A few months earlier, there was a fire at the vacant complex. The complex has been fenced off and has active security on site, so no one should be coming or going, firefighters said. However, Andy Little with Tulsa Fire said crews found bedding in one of the units and think it could have been from someone seeking shelter.

Little said crews have been using the building recently to train for different scenarios they might find in the field.