Owner of troubled Valmar Gardens apartments has record of problem properties, unpaid taxes and ‘shell games’

Lisa King, who lived in Valmar Gardens for three years, carries furniture from her apartment with friend Robert Turner on Sept. 20. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
In September, news broke about the imminent eviction of families from a 64-unit Penn Hills apartment complex. Municipal officials condemned the dilapidated property, forcing most tenants to leave with only a few days notice.Prasad Margabandhu, the owner of record as of last January, knew the building wasn’t up to code. Margabandhu said he’d updated the alarm system and made some other improvements, but the Allegheny County Health Department discovered overflowing dumpsters and tires, couches and other trash strewn about the property. Tenants lacked running water and common area electricity. Penn Hills officials found that Margabandhu hadn’t secured occupancy permits. Though he claimed to be caught in the middle of a dispute over who actually owned the properties, Margabandhu still collected rent from some tenants.
The dispute is being hashed out in court, leaving an estimated 20 families who remain at Valmar Gardens in limbo.

Prasad Margabandhu speaks during a public hearing at Pittsburgh City Council on Oct. 10, 2018. (Screen grab via City Channel Pittsburgh)

Prasad Margabandhu speaks during a public hearing at Pittsburgh City Council on Oct. 10, 2018. (Screen grab via City Channel Pittsburgh)

This isn’t the first failed property for Margabandhu. Over the last decade he has purchased apartment buildings in Penn Hills, Carrick and Swissvale; houses in Mt. Lebanon, South Side, Turtle Creek and Mt. Washington; restaurants in Swissvale and McKeesport; a dilapidated church in Arlington; a gas station in Verona and a convenience store in Glassport. He’s obtained many of them through deed transfers or else shuffled them from one Margabandhu entity to another. Many now sit abandoned and run-down.
Margabandhu has left a long trail of bankruptcies, unpaid taxes, code violations and litigation. Dozens of court cases have named Margabandhu (as well as his brother and business partner Sivram Margabandhu) as a defendant. His properties have been associated with illegal drugs and other illicit activities, according to court documents. The tenants’ situation at Valmar Gardens prompted the Allegheny County District Attorney to look into the matter, though a spokesman for the district attorney said the office is not pursuing criminal charges.
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