Passion Paris and Amber Fanning stood outside their apartments — among boarded-up and burned-out buildings — on a dreary January morning, trying to figure out what to do next.
The Olive Park Village residents had scrambled to find new places to live. They filled out housing assistance paperwork. They waited through the holidays for Department of Housing and Urban Development inspections that would let them escape the deplorable conditions at the apartment complex where they have lived for a combined 25 years.
Takeaways
- Olive Park Village residents have until Jan. 9 to move as the city responds to safety concerns at the deteriorating property.
- HUD barred Olive Park Village’s parent company Millennia and its CEO from new federal contracts for five years in 2024; the local housing authority stopped dispersing payments to the company in December 2025.
- The Independence Plaza Neighborhood Council filed a civil nuisance lawsuit seeking to force repairs or court-ordered receivership.
That morning they got the call that their prospective new homes had failed inspection, which must pass before they can move. Facing a deadline to vacate their current apartments in just four days, the two women were back where they started.
“God, I don’t know (what to do) besides sitting here crying all day,” Paris said. “Right now, in my brain, we are homeless.”…