Residents at Detroit high-rise ride out heat waves with broken AC: ‘Unsafe temperatures’ at Riverfront Towers

At Detroit’s Riverfront Towers, the onetime home of Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, and Coleman Young, residents are writing their frustration on the walls. 

Tenants in one of the complex’s three towers have lived without fully functioning air conditioning since late May, exacerbating the risks of this summer’s extreme heat. 

“No A/C, No Rent” is scrawled in red in an elevator at 100 Riverfront Dr. in a late June photograph provided to Planet Detroit. 

The Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) ticketed Riverfront Towers — described by its owner as a “premier luxury apartment community” — five times for blight violations since July 2. 

Two of the code violation tickets were issued Tuesday: failure to comply with an emergency or imminent danger order, and failure to abate unsafe or unlawful property conditions in a building of more than five stories.

AC is not a requirement in Detroit apartments under the city’s property maintenance code. If a building does have AC, it must work properly. 

The temperature in Erin McKaye’s apartment on the 21st floor of Tower 100 hit 95 degrees during the heat wave that preceded the Fourth of July weekend, she told Planet Detroit.

“It gets so hot,” McKaye said, with her Corgi, Max, and bichon frise, Poppy, panting beside her. 

‘Unsafe temperatures’ for tenants: City inspector

Riverfront Towers is working with the city and vendor partners to restore AC to full capacity as quickly as possible, said Joanne Giacomantonio, spokesperson for AMP Residential.

The property management company oversees Riverfront Towers.

AMP Residential did not respond to multiple emailed questions from Planet Detroit about the cause of the AC problem, when it will be fixed, how its staff is assisting vulnerable residents, and whether they’ve communicated the matter to prospective tenants touring the property. 

“While a temporary solution is in place, we are working diligently toward a permanent solution,” Giacomantonio said in a statement.

“The wellbeing of our residents is always our first priority, and we continue to provide them with information as it becomes available.”

Building inspector Chance Banks flagged the building for “AC operating at 50% with unsafe temperatures for tenants living in the building” in notes attached to a blight ticket written Tuesday.

The property’s five blight tickets carry a cumulative $10,500 in fines and are scheduled for hearings July 22 and 29. 

Thomas “TJ” Rogers, community relations director for District 6 City Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, said: “All residents deserve to be safe from extreme weather; their home should provide respite from the outdoors.”

Santiago-Romero’s office contacted BSEED twice about the hot conditions at Riverfront Towers, Rogers said.

Despite the blight tickets, McKaye said she doesn’t feel there’s any incentive for Riverfront Towers to fix the AC. 

“I feel like there’s no other recourse that residents have,” she said. “Summer is halfway over, but still … August, September, you could still have some heat waves.”

Her rent is $2,215 monthly.

Detroit’s urban heat island effect

On July 1, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield signed an executive order on extreme heat. 

The order extends cooling center hours through September, expedites building inspection requests for temperature-related issues, coordinates site visits to multi-unit senior residential buildings, and requires the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department to pause water shutoffs during an extreme heat emergency. 

Temperatures were in the upper 90s Tuesday, with a heat index over 100 degrees. Detroiters are advised to limit their time outdoors, stay hydrated, and visit the nearest cooling center if needed.

Temperatures along the Detroit riverfront, the location of many of the city’s high-rise apartments, can be as much as 10 degrees hotter than areas outside the city. That’s according to a 2024 Climate Central analysis of urban heat islands that factors population density, percentage of green space, and sunlight surface reflection.

No estimate for AC fix

The apartment’s property management team said May 28 it would temporarily shut down AC at Tower 100 for a “system changeover,” according to emails sent to residents and shared with Planet Detroit. 

On June 10, tenants were told the AC was “fully restored,” but, according to McKaye, residents reported problems with their unit AC through the remainder of June and into July.

An email sent that day acknowledged resident frustration, “especially with the upcoming extreme temperatures,” and apologized for the inconvenience. The building management blamed the situation on contractor delays. 

The notice asked for patience, understanding, and cooperation. 

“While we understand the frustration surrounding this matter, verbal abuse or inappropriate behavior toward team members will not be tolerated.”

Riverfront Towers management informed residents July 2 — a day with a 96-degree high — that AC was at 50% capacity.

“Our service team and contractors are actively working to diagnose and resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” the email said. “Unfortunately, we do not have an estimated time for when service will be restored.”

Both McKaye and fellow resident Alena Hartsuff said the communication from Riverfront Towers is inadequate, and said they’ve received limited emails that lack a maintenance timeline, information about the cause of the issue, and alternative measures for vulnerable residents.

McKaye said: “They’re constantly moving people in here, and I have no idea what they’re telling people.”

She and her husband purchased a $350 portable AC unit, an expense drawn from their emergency savings.

‘I’m really scared’: Pregnant Riverfront Towers tenant

One floor above McKaye, Hartsuff is coping with the heat while anticipating the birth of her daughter. 

Riverfront Towers did not provide advance notice of the AC breakdown before she moved in last month, she said.

“I’m really scared. We got this apartment because our family is expanding … but I don’t know what to do,” said Hartsuff, who’s nine months pregnant and a registered nurse. 

With a July 28 due date, she and her partner continued the lease at their previous apartment while the Riverfront Towers’ AC outage continues.

“You can’t be here that long,” she said of the building.

Pregnant people are more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses due to the bodily changes that occur during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat exposure is tied to an increased risk of complications during any trimester.

Hartsuff wishes she were notified of the ongoing AC problem before moving in June 24 and finding the AC blowers didn’t work, she said. 

“I would have had the ability to select a different unit,” she said. “It was a little heartbreaking. I wanted to get settled, move in and feel at home before she (my daughter) arrived.”

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