Regional Industry & News

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Rapid City officials are keeping pressure on Florida-based Tzadik Property Management over continued neglect at several local properties. Rapid City Public Works is moving forward with the demolition of 28 garages and sheds in substandard conditions and seeking payment on over half a million dollars in delinquent fees.

On Tuesday, the Rapid City Public Works Committee approved contracts to proceed with the demolitions in August, with the estimated $133,500 cost to be assessed directly back to Tzadik Property Management. The company owns LaCrosse Estates Apartments, Oxford Square Apartments, and Rapid City's Star Village.

Tzadik took ownership of Star Village in late December 2019 after purchasing a 261-unit portfolio for $12.6 million. While volunteers and neighbors have since banded together to beautify the neighborhood and improve safety, residents say property management has abandoned them.

"It would be nice, like I said, to meet the owner to have him involved, you know, to make us be that he cares about us as renters as we care about his property," said Star Village resident Mark Morris, who also works as a senior caregiver at the neighborhood’s community hub, “The Nest.”

NewsCenter1 reached out to staff with Tzadik Property Management for a statement on the cited issues and has yet to receive a reply.

Several residents contacted NewsCenter1 to express their frustrations. One such resident, who wished to remain anonymous, provided documents detailing the start of a company reorganization plan that took effect on July 2, following Tzadik Property Management having filed for Bankruptcy in 2025. NewsCenter1 reached out to the attorneys listed in the document for specific details on Tzadik’s plans with its properties in South Dakota and will update this story if a reply is received.

Another resident who wished to remain anonymous spoke of a bedroom that had to be closed off after the ceiling caved in from water damage, exposing black mold. Slats in the roof were seen separating, which they say had a tarp placed over it by Tzadik that eventually blew away.

"We all have problems with these houses, you know, and we try to do things ourselves because nothing gets done," the resident said.

According to City of Rapid City Finance Director Daniel Ainslie, the property management company currently owes more than $533,000 in delinquent utility bills citywide, with more than $344,000 of that balance concentrated at Star Village alone. Despite the massive debt, city officials have declined to pursue their traditional course of shutting off water and sewer services to the properties. Residents that reached out to NewsCenter1 claim they have no delinquent fees for sewer, trash, or water, which they pay directly to Tzadik Property Management staff, meaning the issue with delinquent fees would between the city and the company rather than the city and residents. Ainslie explained that because residents are actively paying their rent and utility fees to Tzadik, the city refuses to penalize the tenants.

"We have not proceeded with our traditional course of action, which would be to turn off the utilities... because the residents who live in those structures are paying," Ainslie said, "The really sad part is that those payments are not coming back to the city."

Code Enforcement Division Manager John Olson reported that his team has abated Tzadik for $26,000 since 2023 for exterior trash, lawn, and debris cleanups, reimbursements that Tzadik has yet to pay. Olson noted that volunteer efforts are the only reason that debt has not doubled or tripled.

“The whole outside view of every yard in the entire neighborhood is my responsibility and my team,” Olson said, “Although Jamie Kirsch and her team have done a great job of keeping things clean, mowed up, and everything else that needs to happen, my team has actually abated Tzadik for the last since 2023 for $26,000 worth of abatements that they have not paid.”

Rapid City Ward 2 Councilwoman Lindsey Seachris, who represents Star Village, explained that the planned demolitions of the 28 accessory structures are only a first recourse, as the city plans to inspect individual duplex units as they become vacant to determine if further condemnations are necessary..

"Sewer system failures, just the conditions of which the actual housing units are deteriorated is significant and sometimes inhabitable, and folks are still living in those conditions," Seachris said.

According to police data, Tzadik-managed properties consistently rank near the top for violent crime and reactive police calls compared to other large complexes in the city. In response, municipal groups like the Rapid City Police Department have started programs like the community hub, The Nest, which officers say has resulted in a reduction in crime in Star Village since its inception.

Under the "Love Your Block" grant program, volunteers recently executed a massive cleanup that removed nearly 36 tons of trash at no cost to Tzadik, and a volunteer plumbing team even restored a resident's bathtub faucet after they had gone 10 years without access to a working shower.

Nevertheless, residents still emphasize that there is only so much that the city and community can do without the property owner's involvement.

"I understand that they're controlled by the guy I've never met out of Florida, but you know, if he wants to be a property manager, then meet the people that rent the property," Morris said, "I just want the community to come together and everybody try to make it a better place to live."

Tzadik is also one of the largest owner-operators in Sioux Falls, where it holds an C- rating with the Better Business Bureau for failing to respond to formal maintenance and billing complaints.

NewsCenter1 reached out to Tzadik Property Management's Sioux Falls office and the lawyers listed on the Notice of Substantial Consummation for a statement regarding the code violations, delinquent utility bills, and demolition orders. At this time, no response has been received.