The Woodlawn Aapartments are located off Dodson Avenue.Andy Berke had better start talking – and fast.
The presumed Chattanooga mayor-to-be has been anything but forthcoming about the fact that his father and uncle own a crime-riddled apartment complex. Not only that, but Berke has failed to disclose the fact that several trash-strewn vacant lots owned by his family could become gold mines if city government redevelopment efforts take place.
In a recent interview with the Times Free Press editorial pages, Chester Heathington, a conservative mayoral hopeful, expressed frustration that Berke’s family owns the Woodlawn Apartment Complex — one of the most drug-, gang- and crime-infested apartment complexes in Chattanooga — and apparently did little to clean up the complex’s problems.
An investigation by the Times Free Press found that Heathington’s concerns were well-founded.
Property and tax records indicate that the Woodlawn Apartment complex is owned by a company comprising Berke’s father, Marvin, and uncle, Ronald. Because of the nature of the way in which the company handles the property, it is impossible to determine whether the mayoral hopeful, himself, has any stake in the complex. He says that he doesn’t.