At the 15-story Ford City Condominium tower on Chicago’s Southwest Side, residents say the elevators are so unreliable that everyday life can feel like a high-rise lockdown. Both lifts are frequently out of service, they report, leaving some neighbors effectively trapped in their units and others trudging up more than a dozen flights of stairs just to get home.
One 88-year-old resident who has lived on the 14th floor for decades now rarely leaves the building because the elevators fail so often. Neighbors describe a place where water sometimes shuts off, the front door does not reliably close, and the graffiti-streaked stairwell doubles as the only dependable way out, which means a long, hot climb whenever the machinery gives out.
According to CBS Chicago, firefighters have been called to free people from stalled elevators at least 17 times since 2024, with incident reports that use phrases such as “rescue, remove from harm” and “extricate, disentangle.” Residents told the station that one of the two elevators has been out of service for years, while the remaining car can be down for days or even months, leaving seniors and people with mobility issues to depend on emergency crews just to move between floors.
Inside the Tower
The property at 4300 West Ford City Drive has a long history of maintenance problems, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, including failed elevator inspections and the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee in recent years. Residents say the roughly 15-story, about 150-unit building also deals with intermittent water outages and a front door that does not consistently latch.
City Steps In, but Options Are Limited
The city has referred the building to the Troubled Buildings Initiative, a program that coordinates multiple departments and can place distressed properties into receivership when owners fail to make necessary repairs, according to the Community Investment Corporation. The initiative can be used to force repairs or even transfer ownership, but moving a building through that process takes time and resources, which means quick relief is unlikely.
New Owner Vows Fixes
Residents told CBS Chicago that a developer is in the process of buying the complex and has promised to tackle the elevators, leaks and other long-delayed maintenance. Tenants said they were told they could stay if they pay at or below market rent. As resident Renee Hatton told the station, “The longest it’s been down for about six or seven months,” and neighbors say they now want a clear schedule and visible proof that the work will actually get done.
What Happens Next
City inspection records and court filings have at times led to permits and trustee oversight for the property, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, but residents remain wary after years of stop-and-start fixes. Nearby problems at Ford City Mall have also drawn the city’s attention to the area and increased scrutiny of property conditions, as NBC Chicago noted, and tenants say they plan to keep pressure on officials and any new owner to move repairs along as quickly as possible.
