After lodging more than a dozen complaints with the city's code enforcement division about conditions at an apartment complex east of Fountain City, residents of Legends at Oak Grove are turning to the Knoxville City Council for help.
Amanda Worthen and her daughter, Halle Christian, are planning to move from Legends at Oak Grove once their lease is up but will first address councilmembers Oct. 27 in a last-ditch effort to improve conditions at the complex on Holly Grove Way just east of Fountain City.
Broken stairs, faulty gates and overflowing garbage are just a few of the problems Worthen has reported to property managers of Legends at Oak Grove, owned by Boston-based West Shore Management. The 200-plus apartments are spread across more than
a dozen buildings at 5605 Holly Grove Way.
West Shore, which also owns Steeplechase Apartment Homes near Inskip and operates more than 50 apartment complexes in nine states, has not returned calls from Knox News.
While the property manager also has not responded to multiple requests for comment over the past month, Knox News reviewed emails between residents and property managers, along with photos from residents and city records documenting some of the complaints.
Trash piles up (and so do complaints) at Legends at Oak Grove
Worthen moved into her apartment in February after leaving Corrington to be closer to her daughter and 6-month-old granddaughter. The exciting new chapter for the family, however, has felt more like a strain.
"You feel duped," Worthen told Knox News.
Since January 2026, Legends at Oak Grove residents have filed 16 complaints with Knoxville's Neighborhood Codes Enforcement division. In three cases, records explicitly document an inspector visiting the property, and two complaints resulted in violations.
More broadly, West Shore has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau, which reports 78 complaints filed against the company, including 31 it failed to respond to.
Legends at Oak Grove charges nearly $2,000 for a two-bedroom apartment at a complex advertised as a gated community. But the gate has been broken the full nine months Worthen has lived at the complex, she said, allowing anyone to come and go.
Worthen and Christian think residents deserve better.
"So much growth is happening in Knoxville," Worthen said. "It's a wonderful thing, but it's disheartening and discouraging to people who move here that this is what you get. I can see a lot of people not wanting to stay."
Photos shared with Knox News illustrate what’s become a recurring complaint from residents about trash bags, boxes and other garbage piling up near the locked garbage compactor. A May complaint resulted in a violation from the city, which found the area clean and the issue corrected during a follow-up inspection two weeks later.
Subsequent trash complaints did not result in violations because inspectors found the property clean when they visited, but two other issues are under review.
Legends at Oak Grove residents are promised a "resort-style swimming pool" and "package receiving service.” Residents say the gates providing access to those amenities, which are accessible by key fobs, have been broken for months.
The first of two complaints filed about the pool and mailroom locks is dated Aug. 17, which prompted a city inspector to meet with property management. A manager told the inspector the system was struck by lightning, according to city documents, and that new key fobs would be delivered the week after Labor Day.
Residents still do not have new key fobs, Worthen told Knox News, and the latter complaint from Sept. 30 is under review. The city has not documented a violation.
The same pattern appears in an August complaint about a crumbling staircase. The city did not issue a violation, but maintenance workers told an inspector the stairwell had been taped off and management was seeking bids for repairs, according to city documents.
The workers also told the inspector maintenance tasks had accumulated due to staff turnover and that they were working through the backlog. The inspector noted residents had other ways to exit the building and closed the case without a violation. Another complaint about the staircase remains open.
Resident offered 'mutual lease termination' after repeated complaints
Christian spent months going back and forth with Legends at Oak Grove management about issues at the complex. On Oct. 20, property management sent an email to Christian and her husband offering a “mutual lease termination," giving them only until Oct. 31 to leave without a termination fee.
“After giving careful consideration to your concerns regarding your experience at the community, we would like to explore an option that we hope would be a positive solution for everyone involved,” property manager Alexis Ramos wrote to the family. “We hope this will provide an opportunity for you to transition to a living situation that better meets your needs.”
Christian rejected the offer, telling Knox News an 11-day window was not enough time for her family to pack up and find a new place to live.
"It's not a peaceful community to live in with all of these issues," Worthen said. "It's frustrating that this dominates so much of our conversations."
Casey Meadows, whose daughter lives at the complex while attending UT, also is counting down the days until her lease runs out after nearly a year of air conditioning problems. City records show her daughter told an inspector in July her unit had worked intermittently since August 2025.
"As a parent, it's been a nightmare," Meadows told Knox News.
The city did not issue a violation after the property manager told the inspector July 1 that replacement components had arrived, repairs were underway and the work was expected to be completed that afternoon.
Legends at Oak Grove resident: 'We're just asking for accountability'
The problems residents have raised about garbage have also shown up in their monthly bills. Emails reviewed by Knox News show Christian repeatedly sought more information about utility charges after her household's variable monthly trash charge increased from $9.66 to $47.36 (on top of a $27 valet trash fee and $1 trash administration fee).
Ramos, the property manager, said in a Sept. 29 email to Christian the higher charge resulted from a temporary roll-off container and related services used while the complex's trash compactor was out of service.
Ramos added that the complex's utility addendum allows total trash invoices to be divided among occupied units. When Christian asked for documentation showing how her household’s portion was calculated, Ramos said property invoices “are internal company documents and are not provided directly to residents.”
“We have reached out to leadership regarding what supporting documentation can be provided to you,” Ramos said in an email to Christian. “Once we have clarification, we will follow up accordingly.”
Christian continued requesting the calculations. Knox News reviewed the lease agreement, which states that “descriptions of billing methods, calculations and allocation formulas will be provided upon request."
By Oct. 21, Christian wrote to management that she still had not received the records she was seeking.
Christian and Worthen have signed up to speak at the Knoxville City Council meeting Oct. 27 as part of the public forum session. No items regarding Legends at Oak Grove are on the agenda, but Knoxville residents can use the forum to bring up issues they feel local government should address.
"We're just asking for accountability," Worthen said.
Sophia Tiedge is the growth and transformation reporter for Knox News. Email: sophia.tiedge@knoxnews.com
How to contact Knoxville's code enforcement department
If your property is within city limits, the neighborhood codes enforcement division investigates violations regarding "dilapidated buildings, dirty overgrown lots, inoperable mechanical equipment, electrical or plumbing deficiencies and loose trash."
Complaints can be made by phone at 865-215-4311, online via the city's 311 page or in person at Room 520 of the City-County Building at 400 Main St.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Complaints pile up like trash at Knoxville apartments. Renters seek help | Exclusive
