The Washington Greene apartments, at 1661 Washington St. W., on ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's West Side, are seen on Monday, July 14, 2025. The 32-unit, four-story building opened in March and now, residents say, it is having elevator issues.
The Washington Greene apartments, at 1661 Washington St. W., on ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's West Side, are seen on Monday, July 14, 2025. The 32-unit, four-story building opened in March and now, residents say, it is having elevator issues.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
Residents are worried about a long-term elevator outage at a four-story apartment building on ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's West Side.
Between July 3 and Monday, the only elevator at Washington Greene apartments did not work consistently, according to several residents there who said they're receiving little information and few updates from the management of the apartments, Woda Cooper Companies of Columbus, Ohio.
Mike Collins, vice president for communications at Woda Cooper, said Monday the elevator has broken down several times, the first being on July 3.
"This initial issue was corrected but another outage occurred," Collins said in an email. "Their technicians have been to the property repeatedly since then and have replaced multiple components. As of [Monday], at 11:30 a.m., the elevators are up and running again."
The 32-unit, four-story building at 1661 Washington St. W. opened in March.
'There are people who are in wheelchairs'
Leenett Patterson moved into an apartment on the fourth floor of the building in April. She's frustrated that the elevator was out for 12 days.
"I'm on oxygen, and I use a walker," said Patterson, 70. "But there are people who are in wheelchairs."
Patterson said at least three people on her floor use wheelchairs. On Tuesday, Patterson said one of them told her they haven't been off the floor for 14 days.
Patterson said she had to climb down the stairs and then back up last week — toting an oxygen bottle — to get to a medical appointment.
"I had to try to get down four flights, and then go up," she said. "It made me nauseous."
Patterson said there is no building manager on site on a regular basis, and it's difficult to get information about what's going on in the building.
Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, whose district covers ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's West Side, was not aware of the outage, but was equally concerned.
"It's a relatively new building," Pushkin said Tuesday. "So, I hope the ownership and management takes this seriously. There are elderly and people with disabilities [who] rely on that elevator to work."
What's next
Patterson and other residents said Tuesday afternoon that the elevator was working again.
When asked on Monday if Woda Cooper Companies communicates with residents about issues like the broken elevator or has a plan in place to help residents with appointments, or during an emergency, Collins said they are responsive to their residents.
"We take elevator safety and outages very seriously," Collins said in an email. "[We] have communicated multiple times to our residents about this situation [at Washington Greene]. We have taken steps to minimize the disruption to their lives, including offering to transport groceries or other necessary items up the stairs for residents, or assist in any other way possible."
Patterson isn't convinced.
"It's just one thing after another," Patterson said, "and these are new apartments."
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Christopher Millette is the Editor of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail. He can be reached at 304-348-5124 or cmillette@hdmediallc.com. Follow him on X: @cmillette.
