‘It was just not safe living conditions’

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Justice Jacobs was at work when the downtown Davenport apartment building she lives in partially collapsed Sunday afternoon.

She said it’s something she and other residents talked about before it happened.

“We would joke and say that this should be a condemned building and it’s going to fall,” she said.

Jacobs said she filed complaints with property managers about overflowing water and that hallways in the building would go neglected.

”There was cracks in the walls that were starting last week,” she said. “And nobody, you know, responded about that. And now come to find out that was probably a huge deal that could have been either prevented or evacuated people out of there.”

Aurea McGregor just moved out of the building about two weeks ago and was supposed to stay in her unit through the end of the month.

“I feel like I dodged death,” she said.

Like Jacobs, McGregor said her issues were not addressed by property management.

“I also had drainage issues in my tub,” she said. “My tub was draining into the other unit below me.”

On Monday at 5p.m. Davenport’s website showed the apartment building underwent 32 inspections since 2020.

In that time, it failed a roofing inspection in November 2020 and failed nine electrical inspections, most recently in February.

Rick Oswald, director of development and neighborhood services, said during a media briefing Monday that the city did issue an order to the building’s owner for structural repairs.

He said it’s too early to tell what caused the collapse.

Jacobs is now staying with a friend. For her, it’s back to square one.

“A lot of great people in my circle that have come together to help me out in this time of need,” she said. “I’m super grateful.”

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