CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The City of Champaign now has approval from a court to secure and vacate a set of apartment buildings that they say pose a safety risk to the people still living there.

The city’s Neighborhood Services Director, Rob Kowalski, said the Champaign Park Apartments have been deteriorating for years and are now a safety risk. They were condemned in June, and a court ordered the property owner to secure the buildings and relocate the 100 people living there.

That didn’t happen, and now a court has given the City of Champaign the power to force the people out. But Kowalski said the city is doing what it can to help them with the transition.

“Really was just individual case management that was provided by city staff and Cunningham Township staff to understand what everybody’s situation was or what they needed,” Kowalski said. “Everybody has different needs, for example. So, if there was help with a security deposit or a reference or something like that.”

Kowalski said the property will have a barrier so no vehicles can get in besides first responders, and the building entrances will be shut. He said that the process will start within a week and he expects it to be fully done in the next month.