By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

For sale at auction by the Hamilton County sheriff: Cincinnati's largest apartment complex - 1,169 units on 25 acres in Bond Hill. Minimum bid: $2.6 million.

The Huntington Meadows Apartments, in foreclosure since its Michigan-based owners went into bankruptcy last year, will be sold at sheriff's sale Jan. 23, according to a legal notice published Monday.

At least two developers have already expressed an interest in the 65-acre property, which has been vacant since its mostly low-income tenants were evicted in August :

The Winn Co., a Boston property management company with 42,200 units on 211 properties across 24 states. A subsidiary partnership, HM-OH Cincinnati LLC, has approached the city with "an interest in pursuing what the community would like to have happen there," said Peg Moertl, director of the Department of Community Development and Planning.

Winn Co. CEO Samuel Ross did not return a phone call Monday.

Amigo Real Estate Co., a Los Angeles company owned by developer Jorge Newbery.

Mr. Newberry , who says he specializes in "troubled properties," plans to keep the project as affordable housing.

That's not exactly in line with the city's vision for the property.

"There needs to be a change in the formula," Ms. Moertl said. "That's not to say there should not be an element of affordable housing there. But I think nobody wants to see just a cosmetic fix-up, and then put 1,100 units back on line with all of the same environmental problems, and then we're right back where we started."

It will cost at least $10.5 million just to get asbestos, mold and lead paint problems under control, according to an environmental assessment paid for by the court-appointed receiver.

City planners also believe the property is too dense and too poorly designed to sustain a safe environment in a city neighborhood. They want to tear down some of the buildings and build new market-rate and owner-occupied units.

Out-of-town developers have owned the 49-year-old complex from the beginning.

The Michigan-based P.M. Group got involved in 1997, when it formed a limited partnership to buy the complex for $11.7 million. Even after the help of $31.6 million in government loans, grants and tax credits, the partnership filed for bankruptcy last year.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com