Tenants pack up ahead of deadline to vacate East Dallas complex

A court-appointed receiver informed tenants of Meadows at Ferguson on Sept. 1 that they would have 30 days to vacate ahead of mold remediation work

It is move-out week for tenants remaining at a troubled northeast Dallas complex.

Residents of the Meadows at Ferguson apartments have endured crime, deteriorating living conditions, and now an uncertain future.

Donna Knipper says she didn’t originally pencil in the end of September as move-out from her third-floor apartment.

“It’s been crazy,” Knipper said. “Like the beginning of August is when they said, ‘oh, we're shutting down’,” Knipper said. “You guys got to get out of here. Short notice.”

Short notice, but she says in many ways, a long time coming for the Meadows at Ferguson - a sprawling complex along Ferguson Road just south of the LBJ Freeway in northeast Dallas with more than 200 units, most unoccupied now, ahead of a Wednesday deadline for all tenants to vacate.

The city of Dallas sued the complex owners, then called Key City Capital in June 2024 two years ago, alleging multiple code violations.

The lawsuit arrived one week after NBC-5 highlighted tenants' frustrations with living conditions at the Meadows, shortly after a storm damaged one of the buildings.

A court-appointed third party, called a receiver, took over management of the Meadows in January from Key City Capital.

Tie Lasater, with Lasater Capital, said he doesn’t know when that receivership will end but worries about what will happen once the property is emptied of residents.

“Unfortunately, when you have a vacant property, it leaves a lot of room and space for homeless and crime to come back in,” Lasater said.

When asked about what’s next for the Meadows at Ferguson, a city of Dallas spokesperson said a response wasn’t immediately available due to city offices being closed Monday, as part of a furlough day.

The office for council member Paula Blackmon, who represents parts of east Dallas that include the Meadows complex, told us the third-party receiver is closing the complex as it works to remediate extensive mold damage, but is providing moving expenses and returning deposits for tenants.

Knipper says she hasn’t seen those checks just yet and admits she has mixed feelings on restarting in a new apartment in nearby Garland.

“I am sad, of course; it's, you know, leaving something that you've been for nine years, all my kids almost were raised and born here,” Knipper said. “So, it is a little depressing; it's a little odd feeling just because I'm moving, but I am happy where I'm going; it was a lot better than this.”