The West Cove Apartments, located at 300 West 132 South in Downtown St. George, were built in 1942 and are made up of eight, one bedroom/one bathroom, apartments divided into two buildings which sits on a 0.39 acre lot. The storage units in the back are not included within the property's acres but there is a gravel pathway that connects the two buildings to the storage units which are still in use to this day.
From first glance, it is very apparent that this property is a ghost town. There are no cars parked on the lot, nor any sign of a proud homeowners personal touch of a garden gnome - or any exterior decoration for that matter. Instead this vacant lot has been decorated with a touch of trash.
It is also obvious that the owner of the property has no time for yard work. The trees have dead branches that need to be trimmed in order to promote a healthier tree and the grass is mostly overgrown, if not dead. The overall landscaping is uncared for and only makes the property look even more deserted.
If the uncared for landscaping doesn't say "eyesore" then maybe the fact that most of the doors and all of the windows have been boarded shut will at least say "ew." In Chicago, Detroit or New York City boarded doors and windows might be a normal thing to see in the ghetto parts of town. Then again, in those towns seeing graffiti is also pretty normal to them. However, the residents of St. George frown upon graffiti and see to it that it is removed immediately.
In October of 2011 locals began to express their complaints about the unattractiveness and impractical purpose of the West Cove Apartments. According to St. George News, neighbors to the property have witnessed homeless people staying the night, adolescents using the property to host drug parties and people trying to break into the storage units.
"In 2008, the police department responded to six criminal mischief, nuisance or trespassing calls to that location. In 2009, that number increased and so far, in 2011, it has doubled" reads a St. George News article titled Residents: Clean up condemned West Cove Apartments.
A year and three months later St. George News posted another article regarding the West Cove Apartments titled Condemned apartments continue to prove a nuisance. In that article there is a quote from Marc Mortensen, City of St. George assistant city manager, saying "You can’t blame the citizens for wanting the property gone," he said. "(The apartments) have been a continual problem." The news article goes on to explain that though there is no money in the budget to tear the apartments down and police having been stopping as much crime in that area as possible.
According to PropertyShark.com the buildings are valued at $1,500 and the land is presumed to be worth $100,000.
The following shots are for you, Eric.
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