Tests Show Asbestos At Troubled Apartment Complex

INDIANAPOLIS -- Test results from a recent health department inspection have come back positive for asbestos at a troubled northeast-side apartment complex.

One building at the Timber Ridge Apartments has been closed off due to asbestos and lab results show the cancer-causing substance in at least nine occupied buildings, Call 6's Rafael Sanchez reported.

It comes after Marion County health inspectors toured the complex near 38th Street and Keystone Avenue for about five hours on July 21.

It was the first time inspectors had been allowed to go inside vacant units, where they found rooms full of trash and human waste. Many ceilings were caving in, windows were broken out and there were signs of animal and criminal activity, officials said.

Timber Ridge has a well-documented history of violations, according to the health department, including more than 70 violations filed in environmental court. That number does not include violations resulting from the most recent inspection.

Attorneys for the apartment complex Tuesday questioned the health department's test results. The judge ordered a new round of inspections.

J.P. Hanlon, the lead attorney for Timber Ridge Apartments, told Sanchez sustainable progress was being made at the complex, and that the company that owns the apartments -- W.K. Holdings -- was working with the city and with residents to address their concerns.

A hearing has been scheduled for next week to address the other health code violations from the July 21 inspection.