ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The City of Abilene says 263 calls were made to Abilene police last year regarding a northside apartment complex, and the city is now ordering the owner put together a plan to fix it, or it could be demolished. 

The Claystone Apartments sits vacant on the corner of North 3rd Street and Mockingbird Lane, and some neighbors told KTAB/KRBC they feel unsafe because of the building’s history.

“I had taught both of my children to drop at the sound of a gunshot, and I didn’t realize how well that worked until we heard it one night,” shared Ruth Foster, a Claystone neighbor.

Foster said the Abilene Police Department (APD) was top five on her phone’s call list for a while, because she heard screaming at all hours of the night. 

This complex was brought up to the Abilene Board of Building Standards, which decides whether a building should be condemned. 

“This complex has definitely been a problem for us,” Ricky Wright, a property maintenance inspector for the City of Abilene, reasoned.

The board recently decided to give Claystone’s owner 30 days to come up with a plan of action for the building, because of the nuisance it has become to the public. 

“Citizens stated vagrants that are squatting on property are in close proximity to children that are nearby,” included Wright. 

Another concern that was brought up about this complex is how close it is to Abilene High School, where students often walk to and from. 

“Kids ride their bikes up and down the street, and some of them go through the ally way,” another neighbor, Mariea Bellinger, inserted.

Bellinger told KTAB/KRBC her son has four children who live in this area, and she is concerned about their safety, as well. 

“It makes us all look bad. It looks rundown,” added a third neighbor, Sandra Wosika.

Wosika said she wants the building to simply be torn down, “It’s not fair to us who are paying taxes on these buildings and these houses, and keep them as neat as they are, to have something like that.” 

If the owner of the Claystone Apartments can come up with a plan of action within 30 days, they will have 60 days to get all the permits to make changes, and everything must be complete before those permits expire.