Air conditioning was restored for some units of a Park Forest apartment complex Thursday after the system shut down across four buildings, village officials said.

Park Forest spokesperson Joshua Vinson said Autumn Ridge apartment management reported fixing the air conditioning at two of the complex’s four buildings and said they were on track to restore air in the rest of the building by Friday.

“They give us an update, so this is what they’re saying,” Vinson said, noting the village is still working to determine who owns the 119 E. Sycamore St. apartments.

Vinson acknowledged conflicting reports of which units’ air conditioning were functioning, such as from Park Forest Trustee Randall White, who has helped coordinate donations of air-conditioning units from churches and individuals.

White said Thursday air conditioning restored at the first building later shut back off, and that only half of the units in the second building had their air switched on at all.

“I know people got the air back on, but don’t celebrate yet,” White said. “I’ve been getting calls from people in the buildings that they had air for awhile, but now it’s back off.”

Resident Derin Curtis said similarly that air conditioning has returned to fewer units than reported by Autumn Ridge and said some residents who have their air working again lost access to hot water.

He said communication with apartment management has been “minimal to almost nonexistent,” but he is grateful for community donations and support from officials such as White.

Autumn Ridge did not respond to messages left by the Daily Southtown Thursday. A person working inside the leasing office Monday said the owners do not speak to media, and when asked who owns the complex said she didn’t know because she had just started working there.

“People are really downtrodden when it comes to this,” Curtis said. “It’s terrible.”

Several community members stepped up to bring fans or air-conditioning units to Autumn Ridge residents, but they have run into challenges, Curtis and White said.

Because the apartments lacked windows, White said, residents had to hang traditional window units outside their screen doors. He also said the building is poorly managed, with its interior home to mold, hole-filled ceilings and leakages.

“It’s a nightmare of problems,” White said.

Curtis said he hopes for more people’s support, as residents have to pick and choose who should be given an air-conditioning unit.

“We’re prioritizing the elderly, the sick and people with kids,” Curtis said.

“And even with us being able to do that, some people are being left out. There’s a girl that’s telling me that she’s having seizures … It’s heartbreaking when you have to see people dealing with issues and you don’t have enough resources,” he said.

There appears to be a large, long unused or maintained pool on the property. Weeds have sprouted through concrete surrounding it and the pool was covered by a blue tarp.

The Facebook page for Autumn Ridge shows a photo of a crystal-clear pool. The last post at the page is from January 2020.

Vinson said Monday he believed daily fines of up to $750 could be levied against apartment owners.

He was more cautious Thursday, requesting residents reach out to the village with their concerns to determine the best course of action.

“If citations need to be posed to the property owners, then we can go through whatever legal process that needs to happen from there,” Vinson said.

Vinson said the village is involved with ongoing litigation with the apartment owner over 170 previously issued citations. He urged residents who need to escape from the heat visit dedicated cooling centers at the Park Forest police station, 200 Lakewood Blvd., and at Village Hall, 350 Victory Drive.

“The village just can’t go out there and put an orange sticker on a building and say, ‘This building is closed. It’s condemned. They don’t have air so we’re just going to tell everybody that they have to evacuate,’” Vinson said.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com