Vicksburg building officials have condemned 37 units at the Whispering Woods Apartments, 780 U.S. 61 South, after inspections revealed a series of serious city and state building code violations and unsafe conditions for residents, according to a letter from the city to the property owner.

The apartment complex’s manager and Whispering Woods Holdings LLC, a Delaware-based holding company with offices in Florida that owns the apartment complex, were notified of the city’s decision by certified mail, Community Development Director Victor Grey-Lewis said. The letter is accompanied by a 12-page list of the condemned apartments and the violations.

Grey-Lewis wrote in the letter a recent inspection he conducted of the apartment complex indicated “that several of the structures and dwelling units are unfit for human occupancy and unsafe.”

The conditions are in violation of the building codes “because of the degree to which the structures are in disrepair or lack maintenance, are unsanitary, vermin or rat-infested, contain filth and contamination, or lack ventilation, illumination, sanitary or heating facilities or other essential equipment required by the code.” The apartment complex grounds were littered with trash, overgrown grass and abandoned vehicles, according to the letter.

“We’ve had mold in this apartment ever since we’ve lived here,” resident Carolyn Dillard said as she pointed out mold on the bottom of a kitchen cabinet under the sink. “Our air conditioner doesn’t work. We’ve complained about it to the manager, but she’s done nothing about it.”

She said she has not complained to the city, but another resident has, adding “people from the city have been in here three times to take pictures of the mold.

Apartment manager Miranda Stewart Thursday accused city officials of “targeting the apartment complex because of its past history,” and claims the complaints about the complex came from disgruntled fired employees and tenants who were evicted and filing the complaints as retaliation.

She also claimed Grey-Lewis and other city inspectors acted improperly by not seeing her first.

“He (Grey-Lewis) can’t just come on this property and go through apartments without my permission,” she said. “He never asked for my permission.”

Attempts Friday to contact Stewart about Dillard’s complaint were unsuccessful.

Under state law and the city’s code of ordinances, city inspectors have the authority to go on property and enter buildings to determine if they are unsafe or dangerous.

Building inspector David Miller said complaints about conditions at the apartment complex came from residents through the city’s Action Line, a service for city residents to file complaints.

Formerly known as the Confederate Ridge Apartments, the complex at one time was one of the premier apartment complexes in the city, but fell into disrepair and attracted an undesirable group of tenants and outsiders who came either as visitors or trespassers and sat outside buildings.

The 152-unit apartment complex was acquired by Whispering Woods in February 2013 at a foreclosure sale, and the company began making attempts to improve the complex’s image, including getting three of its 19 buildings off the city’s condemnation list.

In a March 2014 article in The Vicksburg Post, Eddie Grosse, Whispering Woods LLC managing partner, said conditions were improving, adding plans included improving the complex’s two swimming pools, country club, fitness center and laundry centers.

According to the condemnation letter, the swimming pools are unsafe. A drive through the complex shows empty buildings with open windows sporting condemned notices on the doors and potholes on some of the drives. At several buildings, the breezeways are littered with trash. Another had tires and a rim in the breezeway.

Besides the mold in her kitchen, Dillard said, there is mold in one of the bedrooms and in the closet of her daughter’s room. “She’s had to throw away clothes because they have mold,” she said.

She also showed areas where the ceiling had bulges where it meets the wall and a damaged spot on the wall in her bedroom.

“We’ve told the manager, but nothing’s been done,” she said. “I’m moving out. I’m renting a home from my pastor, and next week, when the lights and gas are turned on, I’m out of here. It’s a four-bedroom house and it’s much nicer than here.”