With downtown Cleveland’s largest apartment complex in foreclosure, 80% vacant and up for sale, the city is trying to step into the court process at Reserve Square — claiming the high-profile property has become a public nuisance.
Lawyers for the city recently filed a motion to intervene in a foreclosure lawsuit that’s playing out in federal court. City officials say the court-appointed receiver in charge of the property isn’t doing enough to fix code violations, including elevator outages, water damage and deterioration in the parking garage.
“We were patient for a long time,” Mark Griffin, the city’s law director, said during an interview Friday. “But month after month, these violations were not getting taken care of. So we felt that we had to step in.”…