What paying off $284K sewer bill signals for an eyesore behind Levee Plaza

Plus another installment of the BiL Holiday Playlist.

• Support for this edition comes from Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette, offering a guide to a winterful life in Greater Lafayette. From snow-covered public art to cozy indoor escapes, local cafés to holiday concerts, check here for the best winter has to offer with Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette.

---

• Support also comes from Wintek Business Solutions. Wintek Business Solutions was at the leading edge of greater Lafayette fiber broadband connections. We have two decades (and counting) of partnership with Cisco for premier products, and we offer comprehensive business solutions like dark fiber, multi-gig services and more. That’s what a half-century-plus of forward thinking gets you. But don’t just take it from us. Hear from our clients, then start your own business solution success story. Call 765-742-8428 or visit wintekbusiness.com.

---

OK, the snow is fine. But who ordered the warm-up overnight and freeze this morning? Happy shoveling, everyone. Bend with your knees.

For now, a few notes to go with aching muscles …

---

A $284K SEWER BILL AND PROMISED FIXES FOR A WEST LAFAYETTE COMPLEX

Could a six-figure sewer bill signal a refresh for one of West Lafayette’s least cared for spots?

In mid-November, the homeowners association for Waterfront Apartments, a group of buildings and 148 units tucked behind Levee Plaza, settled a bill for city sewer service dating back several years and totaling $284,367. That was for charges through August 2025, with arrangements through the city’s board of works that put the complex on an automated payment plan for city wastewater bills from there.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

Eric Burns, West Lafayette’s city attorney, said the bills go back several years, stemming from Waterfront’s complex, condo-styled ownership structure, coupled with the fact that buildings weren’t set up with individual meters. The homeowners association, on the hook for paying for the wastewater flow from individual units in the entire complex, wasn’t paying. He said several attempts to get payments were undercut by new ownership or new management. Burns said the city brought in an outside attorney 18 months ago to sort things out at a place that board of works members were calling an eyesore.

“We think they have that straightened out going forward,” Burns said. “We now have some owners that appear to be really paying attention with the right recipe to get this thing back on its feet.”

Orloff Property Management recently bought 110 of the 148 condos in the complex.

“The property first came to our attention almost two years ago and we were quite frankly very surprised to see how neglected the buildings appeared considering the community’s great location, literally on the banks of the Wabash and in walking distance to Purdue University,” Curt Nielsen, who works for Orloff, said.