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Tarps hang from units at Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill on Feb. 9, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

Attorney General William Tong is investigating the lack of heat and flooding at the Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill after the entire complex, which had 544 units and housed more than 2,000 residents, was evacuated last week.

Tong announced the investigation at a press conference in Rocky Hill on Monday after residents were forced out of Concierge Apartments on Cold Spring Road because of a loss of heat and hot water due to frozen and burst pipes. Tong said the complex has been subject to multiple code enforcement actions and tenant complaints over the years, but this is the worst he has seen. 

Tong, who doesn’t typically get involved in landlord-tenant issues, said the scale and severity of the problem prompted action.

“We are going to bring the heat to hold them accountable, because this crisis did not happen overnight,” Tong said. “It’s the result of years and years — it’s clear — to me of deferred maintenance and neglect.”

Connecticut lacks thousands of units of housing, and many tenants across the state have complained about poor living conditions. Sometimes, those conditions force renters from their homes.

Rocky Hill has issued evacuation orders as the town has determined parts of the complex to be unsafe for occupancy. The complex owner has paid for hotels for displaced residents, with many being placed outside of the town, some as far as Vernon or Naugatuck.

This affects children getting to school in Rocky Hill, where buses are now traveling farther to pick up kids each day, said Rocky Hill board of education member Jennifer Morfea. The Rocky Hill Democratic Town Committee has led volunteer efforts to provide food and other necessities to the 2,000 residents, about 10% of the town’s population. 

“People were contacting me in a panic,” Morfea said. “So I put out a call to action.”

A moving truck drives out of Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill on Feb. 9, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

Morfea said the community has banded together to support the residents, donating necessities like food and other supplies, or helping move boxes. 

The complex parking lot was nearly empty on Monday, with the exception of a U-Haul and a few trucks leaving with furniture. The bottom floor of the complex had white and black tarps held up with red tape.

Alex DeVol, a Concierge resident who moved into his apartment with his partner six months ago, didn’t face severe damage but had no water in one of their bathrooms.

“We want to go home at the end of the day, and if that means we have to find a new home somewhere else, it is what it is. It’s just we’re living in a hotel, and I don’t want to live in a hotel for another month,” DeVol said. 

DeVol said they have witnessed other issues with snow removal and general maintenance and have submitted 20 maintenance requests, with no response. 

“If they don’t actually compensate us fairly, why would we want to continue to pay them?” DeVol said. “I don’t want to pay $2,000 to $3,000 a month to live somewhere that clearly does not value me at all.”

Monthly rent at a Concierge apartment is listed between $1,600 to $2,000 a month, according to apartments.com.

Concierge Apartments is owned by Los Angeles-based private equity firm JRK Property Holdings, under the entity Century Hills. The firm has $15 billion in real estate assets under management in 23 states, Tong said.

Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill on Feb. 9, 2026. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

“Tenants should be immediately reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses, food, lost time at work, day care, lost medication, utilities that they have to pay for but that they’re not receiving,” he said.

Tong said their attorneys responded last night that they will provide all residents with one month rent credit, the ability to break leases without penalty for residents who have lost hot or cold water, and reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses.

Concierge Apartments attorneys did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

In an email response to Tong on Feb. 5, Brian Wheelin, representing the apartment complex, said they have diligently been remedying the underlying issues and providing support to impacted tenants. 

The remediation work is expected to cost at least $2 million and will be completed by the end of this week. 

Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, said this is not the first time there have been issues with the complex, but with the support from Tong and the rest of the town, the negotiations are progressing.

“This is not the first. This is the worst. This better be the last,” Lesser said. 

Sara is a legislative reporting intern at CT Mirror. She is a senior at the University of Connecticut pursuing a dual degree in journalism and political science, with minors in environmental studies and English. Last year, Sara served as the editor-in-chief of The Daily Campus, UConn’s student-run newspaper and has reported campus news since her freshman year. She is the current president of UConn’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and magazine editor at Nutmeg Publishing, UConn’s yearbook and magazine publication. Outside of UConn, Sara has interned at the Worcester Business Journal, the Valley Breeze and the Community Advocate, where she covered schools, businesses, local governments and community town news.