Independence Towers tenants react to end of rent strike: ‘This is a huge win’
Residents of the Independence Towers tenant union voted to end the longest running rent strike in the region after coming to an agreement with the building’s new landlord Wednesday night, in a deal that has tenants hopeful.
“I think it’s the best possible deal we could get, and I’m hoping everyone can see that we can start, you know, moving forward and seeing the repairs done in this building that have been long overdue,” said Chris Carlton, a building tenant.
The strike — which withheld nearly $300,000 over the course of eight months — was initiated in October in response to heinous living conditions in the building.
On Tuesday, Independence Towers Tenant Union and new landlord Vijai Pennezhan of Dynasty Properties had a bargaining session and came to a new agreement, which was ratified by the union Wednesday night, ending the strike.
“This is what every tenant deserves. This is the difference a tenant union makes,” said Just Stein, organizer for KC Tenants, a local tenant union.
Tenants speak on victory
Residents came together in March 2024 to fight against the hazardous living conditions, including pests, plumbing problems and lack of air conditioning.
Anna Heetman, who has lived at Independence Towers for six years, described this as a huge win for the union and is excited for the new relationship with Pennezhan.
“Before the union (we) had no hot water for two weeks and the HVAC was out,” Heetman said. “I was getting flooded in my unit from the laundry room across the hall. I had a big hole in my ceiling from water damage from the radiator in the unit above me.”
Heetman still has pests and sees mice every so often, but the hole in her ceiling was recently fixed after four years. Her plumbing still isn’t great, but she remains hopeful for the future.
“This is a huge win, but it’s not over. I really hope that we can have a good working relationship with Vijai and you know I hope that moving forward we will have a better experience living at Independence Towers,” she said.
Neither Heetman or Carlton plan on moving out any time soon, though Heetman said she’s been asked frequently why she stays.
“We’ve really built a community at Independence Towers and we know our neighbors, we don’t want to leave,” she said. “So many of us feel like Independence Towers is where we want to be and we deserve for our home to be safe, affordable and healthy.”
Details of new agreement
As part of the new agreement, Dynasty Properties will offer a lease renewal to all current tenants and allow them to sign for a second year with a 5% rent increase cap, according to the news release.
The rent, which includes water, sewer, trash and gas will be: $730 for a studio, $755 for a large studio, $855 for a one bedroom apartment and $965 for a two bedroom apartment. These prices will keep most tenants paying the same amount.
Tenants late on rent will be charged a $50 late fee the first month and be given three weeks of grace to pay before evictions start, according to the agreement.
As for repairs being done to the building, Dynasty committed to doing permanent HVAC repair by the end of November and to do pest extermination, plumbing, in-unit repairs and reopen the parking garage and community room by the end of the year. An automatic discount of $75 will be given until the HVAC fix is done.
Tenants will be informed on the progress of repairs through newsletters, according to the agreement. If a tenant has to be displaced because of repairs, ownership will relocate them to another unit on the same rent terms or allow the tenant to end the lease at no cost, according to the agreement.
Troubled history at Independence Towers
Two months after starting the union, residents protested against management company FTW Investments, which oversaw Independence Towers at the time.
FTW and co-founder Parker Webb were ousted in May by order of a Jackson County judge for violating their loan agreement, and a new company, Trigild, Inc., was appointed by the court to manage the troubled property.
Then, tragedy struck. In June 2024, Destiny R. Kley, 22, allegedly confessed to setting an arson fire in her kitchen, displacing 27 residents across three floors of the building.
Six weeks later, a 3-year-old Tidus Bass was found lying on the grass outside the building, unconscious but breathing, and was rushed to a hospital where he later died. He had fallen from an unsecured window on the eighth floor, authorities said.
The boy’s father, Moses Bass, and his girlfriend, Destiny Lee Randle, face felony child endangerment in the case, but allege they’d been asking the building management to fix the broken window for a year.
Troubles persisted with a new court-appointed management company, Trigild, Inc., at the helm, which tenants say hadn’t communicated with them since their first meeting in June 2024. In April 2025, Judge Charles McKenzie approved the sale of the building for $2.8 million to Dynasty Properties Inc., an Illinois corporation with ties to Vijai Ponnezhan.
Terms are subject to be renegotiated with the tenant union at the end of the renewal period.
