ADRIAN, Mich. — Nearly two years ago in late July, Richard and Cynthia Houle received a knock at the door of their Riverview Terrace apartment in Adrian, telling them they only had 20 minutes to pack up their things and leave because the whole building had been condemned.
They thought they would never see home again. But on Wednesday, they signed a new lease.
"It made me [cry] tears of joy. It really did," Richard said.
It was an emotional reunion for the Houles since they signed the application for a new unit in the building they call home, a far cry from how they felt two years ago after they and the tenants of the other 162 units in Riverview Terrace were forced to leave after cracks were found in the building's foundation.
"It's been a really hard transition, we've been all over the state and finally we settled at the Adrian Inn and that's been a transition," Richard said.
The inn became the temporary home base for dozens of displaced residents like the Houles. They say the situation has been less than ideal and has lasted far longer than the few months promised by Riverview Terrace's management company, Medallion Management.
Scott Beltz, chief executive officer of Medallion Management, said the company at first thought repairs would be simple and promised a quick turnaround, but as more details came in, crews realized they actually had a $7 million project on their hands.
"There have been several roadblocks along the way and we have been able to get over them, it's just, we want to make sure the building is 100% safe," Beltz said.
Medallion Management is waiting on a final inspection from the city of Adrian before it reopens at the end of the month.
The apartment complex is starting to accept leases again. Richard Houle said despite the hardship, he and Cynthia are just happy to finally be returning home.
"A lot of people at first wanted to play the blame game. you can't do that," Richard said. "Yeah, it happened, yeah, it was a hard transition, but we made it through so let's rejoice and be happy."
The Houles say they're not the only ones who plan on returning to Riverview Terrace. They've kept in contact with many former tenants who say they plan on filing applications and getting their old apartments back, too.