Breanna Reeves
Located less than one mile away from the unblemished entrance to San Bernardino City Hall sits a former American Sports University dormitory that once housed students, but began to house San Bernardino residents looking for affordable housing.
After three years of tenants occupying rooms in the unsafe, black mold-infested building located at 340 W. 4th Street, the city finally closed the building on Aug. 17 and all tenants left voluntarily, according to San Bernardino Public Information Officer Jeff Kraus.
In October 2022, San Bernardino Code Enforcement officials in partnership with San Bernardino County Fire Department marked the building as unsafe after finding situations that were an immediate threat to public health and safety. The building had been red-tagged then, but not shut down.
“Where we were sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place, is the building probably should have been shut down then, but with between probably 210 [to] 220 people in there, we really couldn’t just turn them out on the street,” Kraus explained.
City officials were able to provide services and relocate tenants, but as more people learned that services were being provided, more and more people began to show up, many of whom were not tenants of the building.
San Bernardino County’s 2023 Homeless Count Survey reported 2,976 unsheltered adults and children, up from 2,389 in 2022. With 1,017 unsheltered adults and children counted, the city of San Bernardino had the highest number of unsheltered people.
“Some of the occupants who moved out are still in need of long-term housing and additional services,” said Interim City Manager Charles McNeely. “The mayor and council are committed to continue working to provide affordable housing options for our residents and homeless solutions as a safety net.”
According to Kraus, current conditions of the building include a large, growing pile of trash that sits inside and alongside the building, no smoke detectors, unusable fire escape, insect infestation, broken and leaking plumbing, and “excessive” black mold.
The building is owned by Ji Li of Fox Property Holdings LLC of Irwindale, CA. In September 2022, the court issued a temporary restraining order that required the property owner to pay to relocate the tenants and make all required repairs to the building. Kraus said that the property owner has ignored those court orders.
Earlier this year, in an effort to take control over the building, the city requested that the court appoint a new, temporary overseer of the building and make much-needed repairs. The court denied the request and granted the property owner’s request for additional time to make building repairs.
“Here we are five months later, and still nothing has been done, and the conditions have gotten worse,” Kraus said.
The building has been the subject of safety and code violations for years and snowballed when citations and hearings were ignored by the property owner. At one point, fines began accumulating from $1,000 to more than $100,000.
“All along, our top concern was for the safety and well-being of the building occupants,” said McNeely. “The condition of this building was unacceptable. The health and safety danger, especially from a fire, could not be tolerated.”
While the building is now officially shut down, the property is still owned by Fox Property Holdings.