DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO — The Capitol Park Hotel has sat in downtown Sacramento for more than a century.
Nowadays it operates as both an affordable housing property and a temporary homeless shelter.
But residents who live there say conditions are far from adequate.
“No water, no air conditioning, no cable TV, no elevators,” said resident David Nelson.
Nelson, who is 75 years old, said the building he’s lived in for the last 15 years is in bad shape.
“It’s very hot, very uncomfortable and just difficult to get out and about,” he said.
He said living conditions at the Capitol Park Hotel on 9th Street have reached a new low ever since changing ownership in July.
“These people have turned this place upside down. It just keeps getting worse,” Nelson told FOX40.
And he’s not alone in that thought.
“Before I go to bed and get any kind of rest, I have to spray my bed with rubbing alcohol,” said resident Jimmy Garlin.
Garlin said his bedroom has become infested with bedbugs in recent weeks and the 72-year-old has been forced to take matters into his own hands.
“It’s almost not livable,” he said.
Tenants said when they’re not dealing with bugs, they’re without running water.
“I had no hot water for almost two days,” said resident Christian Duncan. “I couldn’t take a bath. It’s a disgrace.”
Many of the property’s roughly 75 residents are elderly or disabled, making it difficult for them to get to and from their rooms. To make matters worse, residents say the building’s elevators often malfunction with “out of order” signs posted on the doors.
“We have so many people that can’t get down the stairs,” Garlin explained.
Mercy Housing bought the property in July and leased it to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency with plans of converting the building into a full-service homeless shelter by the fall.
Agency leaders said they are committed to fixing the challenges at the site that they say have existed for years.
“We have taken over a building that is over a century old that has had numerous problems for decades, and so we are inheriting a huge amount of ongoing maintenance issues,” said SHRA Director of Development Tyrone Roderick Williams.
For those who have paid to live there for years, they said current living conditions are unacceptable and they hope things improve soon
“It’s just not fair. It’s just not fair,” Garlin said.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg and other city leaders got to tour the property Wednesday. They were shown the sixth floor, where some homeless people have already moved in, and were satisfied with the conditions they saw, according to a city spokesperson.
The mayor is asking for weekly reports and updates on the maintenance issues.
