Keisha Williams sprayed foam around her door to keep out mice at Garden Spires in Newark in this 2017 photo. A $172 million investment in Garden Spires and nearby Spruce Spires was announced on Sept. 5, 2018. (NJ Advance Media file photo)

By Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media

This time, officials vowed, the problem-plagued story of Newark's 550-unit low-income towers in the Central Ward would not repeat itself.

Over the last 50 years, grim conditions at Garden Spires have roiled tenants and politicians, who have long-clamored for cleaner and safer conditions in a housing complex that was often a hotbed for violence and drugs.

Those efforts failed, and failed again.

But on Wednesday, a cadre of federal, state and local officials gathered outside 175 First St. to announce a $172 million investment in Garden Spires and nearby Spruce Spires.

"There have been a series of complaints for a very, very, very long time but today we get to change that trend, that story of what's going to happen here at Garden Spires," Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said.

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A rendering of what one of the apartments in Garden Spires could look like after renovations are completed. (Courtesy Omni America, LLC)

Newark sued the former property owner, First King Properties, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides subsidies, in July 2017 asking a judge to declare the building inhabitable and relocate residents.

The lawsuit was dismissed in May, court records show, after the parties reached a settlement.

HUD admitted Wednesday it was providing the former owner, despite conditions described as inhumane, with $500,000 in subsidies a month.

"A slumlord should not become enriched at the expense and sacrifice and health of their residents by failing to provide decent, safe sanitary conditions," Lynne Patton, HUD's New York-New Jersey Regional Administrator said.

Patton said First King Properties agreed to pay $800,000, generated as part of the sale of the property, as settlement for violating safe housing conditions. She said the settlement was one of many to come.

"I am officially declaring war on every single private landlord within earshot of this press conference and making it crystal clear that they have a legal and moral obligation to provide decent and safe housing to the families we serve and that there will be stiff penalties to pay to those who fail to do so," she said.

Despite decrepit conditions and more than 2,000 code violations from the city, Garden Spires passed its recent HUD inspection. Patton said her office was reassessing the inspection process.

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.@LynnePattonHUD calls up former Sen. Beck and Sen. Rice as week as community activist Bill Good who were instrumental in pushing for better affordable housing conditions pic.twitter.com/yOR6YGvjOz — Karen Yi (@karen_yi) September 5, 2018

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A rendering of what the Garden Spires lobby would look like. (Courtesy Omni America, LLC)

The new owner, Omni America, LLC, led by former all-star Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn, who also played for the New York Mets and graduated from Seton Hall University, and developer Eugene Schneur, purchased both complexes in August, and said improvements should be complete by the end of 2019.

All 660 units in Garden Spires and Spruce Spires will be renovated, with new flooring, lighting, kitchen cabinets, appliances, and additional work would address other code violations. Omni officials said new security cameras will be installed, and tenants will not be displaced during construction.

Work beginning immediately on 150 vacant units at Garden Spires should be completed by the end of the year.

Schneur said the buildings would remain affordable "as long as we're around." He said HUD renewed a 20-year contract with Omni to provide subsidized housing.

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The bathroom inside a vacant unit in Garden Spires. (Karen Yi | for NJ Advance Media)

Garden Spires opened two years before the Newark Riots in 1965 to provide affordable housing to teacher and government employees. It was the first high-rise tower built in the city for moderate-income families.

Problems began almost immediately and later prompted U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in 1999, then a Newark city councilman, to stage a 10-day protest outside the buildings.

But the conditions persisted -- even after state initiatives by former Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) and Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex).

Resident Tyshonda Rush said she used to clean vomit from the stairwells and hallways when she first moved into Garden Spires in 2014. But on Wednesday, she was eager to see the promised improvements -- in particular the remodeled kitchen she saw on the renderings.

"The floors, I love them," she said. "So far, I'm seeing what I'm hearing."

Rush, 38, said the property was already cleaner and the maintenance staff more responsive to residents' needs. "I'm excited ... I"m glad they're going to do something about it."

The New Jersey Home Mortgage Finance Agency contributed $59.3 million in financing to Garden Spires and $16.3 million to Spruce Spires, plus tax credits that enable $49.1 million in additional private equity. The State Economic Development Authority awarded Omni America $43 million in tax credits.

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A rendering of the renovated exterior of Garden Spires. (Courtesy Omni America, LLC)

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Read more

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Newark reaches deal to clean up roach, rat-infested housing project

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Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.