Horizon West Condo owners in Waukesha remember building scare one year later

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) — Condo owners gathered today, exactly one year after police forced them to evacuate their Waukesha homes for fear the building would collapse.

Forty-eight units are located inside Horizon West Condos. The occupants remember a feeling of uncertainty during that cold night. Some old people, some teenagers, home alone – now, with a common thread – grief they just can’t shake.

“We’re still here. It hasn’t gone away for them,” said Diane McGeen, daughter of a condo owner.

Diane McGeen’s 87-year-old mother has had a difficult year after being forced to leave her home on the fourth floor of Horizon West Condos.

“It was almost like being on the Titanic when it sank. It was 15 minutes, get out, you’ll never be able to live here again,” McGeen said.

Today it is Horizon West Condos on West Avenue in Waukesha. A year ago it was declared structurally unstable.

“There was panic everywhere, people in the corridors were saying: is this true? Is this true? Is this really happening?” McGeen said.

The scars are both physical and emotional.

“Moving, she had a stress fracture in her back, and then that triggered her. And then she started having more heart problems,” McGeen said.

Currently, Ione Kohler is back in the hospital, her sixth trip in the last year.

“And before that, she was vibrant, active and very healthy,” McGeen said.

Of the 48 families affected, we learned that some are still homeless, living with a family member and sleeping on couches. Some who chose to rent an apartment saw their credit take a hit because they could no longer pay their mortgage.

“The last year has been very hectic. The first two or three months I was in a pretty deep depression,” said Laurel Peterson, a condo owner.

Laurel Peterson showed us this photo of her daughter in their second-floor apartment before rushing out.

“We grabbed what we could. We didn’t know where we were going to go, what exactly was happening,” Peterson said.

Condo owners did their best to stand together, filing a lawsuit against travel insurance for failure to pay claims, but a judge ruled against them. The owners appeal. Meanwhile, the city is trying to force condo owners to pay for the building’s demolition.

“Of course, we’re all in financial trouble, so for us to find that kind of money on our own is almost impossible,” Peterson said.

There will be a hearing in January at which a Waukesha County judge is expected to consider demolishing the building.