Correction: There is no shelter being formed at the county fairgrounds, as this story originally reported. There are temporary shelters at the Salvation Army in Olathe and Project 1020 in Lenexa.
David and Betty Matthews, both retirees, lived in Aspen Place Apartments in Gardner for two years.
That was two years of filling their bathtub every other week for when the water would go out; two years of uncompleted maintenance requests; two years of never-ending problems and frustration.
The Matthews are now two of roughly 200 Aspen Place residents who on Tuesday were given 48 hours to vacate their homes after the city condemned the complex.
After years of simmering frustration, the Matthews were shocked at the suddenness and finality of the order to evacuate the property at 101 Aspen St., just southwest of New Century AirCenter.
“I went to the food bank out here and we weren’t gone 15 minutes, came back and it (the notice) was on the door,” David Matthews said.
He said he saw people adding more notices to other units’ doors across the street.
“I got angry. I went over to confront them about it, they said they couldn’t do nothing about it. We had no choice but to get out,” he said.
For the Matthewses, the past two days have been chaotic, but it’s also been a reminder that there are those willing to step up and help.
“I’ve had people that I don’t know come to me, knock on my door or just come up to my step and ask me, ‘Can we help you? Can we come in and box stuff up? Can we help you move?’” he said. “I was so angry in the beginning that by the end of the night last night (Tuesday), there was so many nice people that I’d never met, that I lost that anger.”
City officials say they did not take lightly the order to condemn the complex and evacuate its residents. The move came just days after a fire truck responding to an emergency call at Aspen Place sank into a crumbling roadway at the complex and remained trapped for hours.
That incident seemed to be the last straw after years of issues. Gardner city officials said Aspen Place’s infrastructure, originally built in the 1950s, has “severely deteriorated” and “become increasingly unreliable” with frequent water pipe ruptures, inconsistent water service and unreliable roadways.
Gardner Mayor Todd Winters said the 48-hour order was necessary.
“It was supposed to be a more immediate emergency measure, but I felt residents needed more time, so I pushed for 48 hours,” Winters said Wednesday. “I also felt it was more palatable that residents could come back and get stuff during the day after the 48-hour move-out period.”
Still, Matthews said two days is not enough time.
“I’m upset with it, but we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Resources, shelter and assistance
Residents gathered Wednesday night at Grace Baptist Church, 650 E. Madison St., for a community meeting that highlighted more than 10 organizations that were ready with informational pamphlets and sign-up sheets for displaced residents.
Organizations at the meeting included Gardner-based food pantry, The Hope Market, as well as the Salvation Army, Kansas Legal Services, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, a moving team and more.
“From the preliminary data that Johnson County has given us and from what we’ve learned so far tonight (Wednesday), it looks like there’s about 50 families that will not have a safe space come tomorrow (Thursday) evening,” said Melissa Prins, founder and director of the Hope Market.
Hope Market has started an online fundraiser seeking donations to help Aspen Place residents pay for new housing application fees, security deposits and first-month’s rent. (There are also various fundraisers at crowdfunding site GoFundMe for Aspen Place residents.)
Temporary housing is available through the Salvation Army in Olathe and Project 1020 in Lenexa, which typically provides overnight shelter for those experiencing homelessness during the winter.
Aspen Place residents considering these options must complete a housing needs assessment at a county collection point at New Century Fieldhouse, 551 New Century Pkwy. The fieldhouse will be open Thursday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“It’s been a nightmare”
Candice Walker has lived at Aspen Place for about a year and said she hopes for justice.
She blames the complex’s owner, Lenexa-based KDR Realty, which took over as the management company in 2022 from another entity named Axiom Equities, which had managed the property since 2015.
“Where is the owner?” Walker said. “I’d like to see the owner go and live in one of these townhomes, or so called apartments, for one night. I’m at my breaking point. I’m a heart patient. I’m on the transplant list.”
A Change.org petition is urging an investigation into KDR Realty for “unethical business practices” and “potential violations of state law.”
The Post has been unable to reach KDR officials or any property manager for comment, and city officials say the leasing office at the complex has been locked.
Walker’s front door was about ready to fall off, but maintenance hasn’t fixed the issue, she says. She worries, with belongings likely to be left behind in the rush to move out, that her items will be stolen.
“It’s been a nightmare,” she said. “But out of all of it, we got some pretty damn good neighbors.”
Dozens of volunteers came out to support Aspen Place residents Wednesday night, many of them showing up at Grace Baptist Church with resource packets. Others wandered the neighborhood looking for people they might be able to help, setting up tents and tables and handing out bottled water. Some dropped off food, including stacks of Casey’s pizzas and bags of Chick-fil-A takeout.
“I saw the posts like everybody else on Facebook,” Prins, the director of Hope Market, said. “My immediate thought was, ‘How would I feel if somebody came to my door at 9 o’clock in the morning and said I had 48 hours to get out?’”
Prins sprung into action, first calling Grace Baptist Church to set up space for meetings, including Wednesday’s community gathering for resources.
“I’ve had this happen to me, twice,” said Michelle Thornton, a Gardner resident who showed up Wednesday to help. “I’ve been there. I know what having the rug dragged out from under your feet feels like. I wanna cry for them. I don’t have money that I can give them, I wish I did, but I can come here and I can give them food and I can give them hugs and say, ‘Hey, I’ve been there.’”
The city and other officials on Tuesday were not ready to say what will happen to the Aspen Place complex itself once residents are moved out.
