Royal Towers Apartments in Manhattan condemned, residents told to vacate

The Royal Towers Apartments in Manhattan were officially condemned Friday following weeks of complaints from residents on the status of the building.

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - Residents of a Manhattan apartment complex will have to look for new places to live after property owners failed to meet code requirements and repairs in time.

A letter send to residents from Ryan Courtright with the Manhattan Fire Department's Risk Reduction team shows that the property owners of the Royal Towers failed to meet the March 16 deadline for correcting the walkways and stairwells of the building. Residents will now have to begin vacating the building and will have until Monday, May 1 to leave.

Courtright said a structural engineer is evaluating the walkways and determining a safe way to move furniture and other heavy objects out of the building. A plan for this should be released by Friday, March 24 which will allow residents to move heavier objects out of the apartment safely.

Courtright's letter tells residents to immediately begin looking for a new place to live and to avoid moving heavy items out until a structural engineer has evaluated the building. Students with Kansas State University are encouraged to contact the Office of Student Life at 201 Holton Hall by email at stulife@ksu.edu or by phone at 785-532-6432 for help.

If you are a resident and have questions, you can contact the Risk Reduction office at 785-587-4506 between 8 a.m. and 5 pm. Monday through Friday. Updates on the Royal Towers can be found online by clicking here.

KSNT 27 News spoke with city officials and residents of the Royal Towers earlier this week to learn more about the situation. This has been an ongoing issue for several years.