A few passing clouds. Low 59F. Winds light and variable..

A few passing clouds. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.

Broken asphalt and an ongoing leak that produces pooling water that freezes are visible in the parking lot at Madison Square Apartments, 1801 N. Madison Ave., Anderson.

Ice, deep ruts in the ice and cracked sidewalks are among issues seen at Madison Square Apartments.

Broken asphalt and an ongoing leak that produces pooling water that freezes are visible in the parking lot at Madison Square Apartments, 1801 N. Madison Ave., Anderson.

Ice, deep ruts in the ice and cracked sidewalks are among issues seen at Madison Square Apartments.

ANDERSON — When Nathan Jacobs goes to work, he has to turn on the gas stove to provide heat in his apartment at Madison Square.

Jacobs has lived in the “F” Building of the apartment complex for three years but is looking for a new place to reside.

The rent on his apartment was recently increased to $824 per month from $635, and Jacobs is now responsible for utility costs.

“There are constant problems,” he said. “The heat has not been working for longer than six weeks.”

Jacobs has to heat water on the stove to bathe and wash with and uses a portable washing machine in his bathtub to launder clothing.

“The washer and dryer breaks all the time,” he said.

Jacobs said there were no problems with the heat or hot water under the previous ownership; problems started when Property Resource Associates purchased Madison Square.

Property Resource Associates also owns the beleaguered Bingham Square Apartments, and both complexes are listed for sale with a $5 million price tag on each.

Jacobs has told the maintenance staff to not enter his apartment when he is not there.

He said Madison Square management has taken temperature readings in his apartment, but Jacobs said the temperature numbers are not correct because the apartment is being heated by the oven.

Outside the building is an ongoing water leak in the parking lot that has migrated to in front of Jacobs’ apartment building.

The drive to the apartment building has been covered in a sheet of ice with deep ruts that make it difficult to enter the parking lot.

The iced-over drive is also causing problems for tenants of Edgewater Woods.

An employee of Edgewater Woods contacted The Herald Bulletin and said that the manager of Madison Square was aware of the water leak but that there is no timeline for making the repair.

In an email sent to Tamie Dixon-Tatum, director of the Anderson Civil and Human Rights office, the complex’s management said it purchased a new water heater for the unit, but it was damaged when there was a flood in the boiler room that damaged the water heater’s gas valve.

Management also replaced the boilers, but they stopped working and the vendor from New York was supposed to have repaired the boilers last week.

Dixon-Tatum said all cases filed with her office are confidential.

“When a situation comes to my office, I take the time to talk to all parties involved to address every situation,” she said. “We encourage both sides to do what they are supposed to do in maintaining a unit.”

Jeremy VanWinkle, property manager for Property Resource Associates, could not be reached for comment.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.

The agency’s not-for-profit arm, Anderson Housing Inc. filed the lawsuit earlier this year for the rent payments.

Senior Reporter covering Anderson and Madison County government, politics and auto racing for The Herald Bulletin. Has been working as a journalist in central Indiana since 1977.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Join host Emma Keith in exploring the criminal justice system that convicted and sentenced Rebecca Hogue, a Norman, Oklahoma mother found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her son.

Meet your Best of Madison County 2022.

Graduations, games or events, order prints of your favorites photos from The Herald Bulletin.

Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.