St. Petersburg, Florida -- St. Petersburg's BayWalk shopping center, already plagued by a tough economy and empty storefronts, faces even more trouble.
Tuesday and Wednesday, code enforcement officers will be slapping the complex with a series of code violations.
Once the sparkling jewel of promise for St. Pete's downtown development, BayWalk has apparently fallen into such a state of disrepair, bad enough for it to get hit with a handful of code violations.
Code Enforcement Director Gary Bush says they visited the shopping center twice in the past few weeks, acting on several tips.
"Some rumors that there might be some problems there, so we took a look at it," said Bush. "We'll be sending violations out either today or tomorrow."
The short list of problems code enforcement officers found -- and want fixed as soon as possible -- includes items like cracked and buckling stucco in danger of separating from walls, a dead tree limb in danger of falling, escalators not working, a hole in a door, and exposed power cords running under pavers that need to be replaced with a hard-wired wrapped in conduit.
"We want property upkeep. That helps to keep it before other things go bad," said Bush, "Keep the repairs within reason."
The city says none of the violations pose an immediate safety threat, but eventually they could. What really bothers them is that the infractions are largely basic housekeeping items that property managers should be on top of, said Bush.
It may suggest further financial stress at the already ailing retail spot.
Bush says while he sympathizes, "They need to find a way to get that done. There are issues that need to be taken care of."
Customers who remember better days at BayWalk say they see the difference too.
"Maintenance isn't the best and it's almost as if it's dead. Like the environment," said customer Brittany McCoy. "And I remember when I used to come here and I would see teens dancing. And I would see people hanging out. And it's not even that any more."
"There was music playing and all sorts of restaurants to go to," added customer Simone Leeper, "And now you go and it's not that same vibrant lifestyle it used to be."
The city says it's been in contact with the property's management company and has been assured the code items cited will be addressed in a timely manner.
That's all the city is asking. No deadlines have been set at this point.
"If work begins and proceeds at a reasonable rate to resolve the issues, I see no reason for any other action to take place," said Bush.
BayWalk's property management company declined to comment.
The sale of the shopping center property has been listed as pending for several months now.