Media Credit: Thomas Martinez Residents of the Capri Apartments on Alder Street watch as construction crews work to fix the building's unsafe deck railings in order to bring the complex up to city safety code.

Nearly 50 residents, including many students, were forced to temporarily vacate their homes near campus Thursday night after the city discovered the building they were living in had been labeled "unsafe to occupy" more than three weeks earlier.

City officials say the property owners had begun renovating the building at 1436 Alder St. without obtaining the necessary permits, and were therefore not complying with several city safety and building codes.

The students were allowed to return to their apartments Friday evening after the property manger had construction crews work through the night and fix the immediate danger the city had outlined, which were the unsafe and poorly-installed guard railings on the building's outer decks. Capri Apartments at The University of Oregon, the on-site apartment manager, arranged to have all students who could not find another place to sleep stay at one of two local hotels.

On Sept. 10, Eugene building official Stuart Ramsing ordered the apartment complex to be closed and posted as "dangerous" and "unsafe to occupy" after the city received an anonymous tip there was construction being done on the building. When code enforcers inspected the building, they noticed several code violations that threatened the safety of the building's inhabitants, including the poorly-installed guard railings.

But despite the notice, University student Lizzie Falconer and other residents were allowed to move in on Sept. 15 - just five days after the building was labeled unsafe.


Falconer, who moved into one of the apartment's quad-style rooms, said the "unsafe to occupy" signs had been removed from the building before she checked-in to receive her room key.

"We went out there (last Thursday) and were surprised to find that the building was occupied," Ramsing said, adding that when the city initially inspected the apartment, the units were unoccupied. "That surprised us, and that was why we acted so quickly to get the tenants out of the building."

After some confusion Thursday evening, representatives from the local property manager's national office flew in from California to work with the city to bring the building back into code compliance and allow the students to return.

"The notice on Sept. 10 just said we needed to get a permit," said Nate Akiva, managing director of the apartment complex. "We complied with the city's request to get that permit, and that's why the students were allowed to move in on the 15th."

The posted notice stated: "The owner or person in responsible charge of this property must obtain the necessary permits to remedy the unsafe condition or demolish the building within 10 days of this notice or the city will proceed to do so ... It is a violation of law to occupy this building or to remove or deface this notice."

Andrew Bolton, the director of acquisitions at MHE Properties, a California-based company overseeing the development of the building, insisted they had all the necessary permits to build and had been working with the city, a claim Ramsing refutes.

Falconer said that when she and her roommates moved into the building on Sept. 15, their apartment was still under construction.

"Jamie and I walked in and said, 'Oh my god, our apartment is not even done!'" Falconer said.

Falconer said that initially none of the drains in the apartment were functioning, the apartment had not been cleaned, there were construction supplies left in the area, and the top of a vent from an old stove range left a hole in the ceiling.

"My toilet wasn't running right," said Melissa Berg, a sophomore who moved in Sept. 20. "It would flush automatically. I would be lying in bed and hear my toilet flush."

Bolton, however, said the building's construction was completely on schedule and at the time students moved in on the 15th the interiors of the apartments were fully completed.

"One-hundred percent of the interior was done," Bolton said. He added that some exterior work remained to be completed.

Falconer said she and her roommates spent days attempting to contact Capri Apartments to get things in their apartment finished and working properly, but received no word back.

"We called Capri, left messages, e-mailed, went over to the office - the only way to get things fixed was to talk to the construction workers," said Falconer.

Sheryl Eyster, associate director of student life, said the University's Office of Student life met with several of the 48 students living at the apartment building on Friday to offer support and direct any legal questions they have to the ASUO Legal Services.

The office will meet with the students again today to discuss legal rights and other options the students have.

"Dealing with Capri has been a horrible experience," Falconer said. "They have not taken responsibility for all the things that have gone wrong."

Representatives from Capri Apartments declined to comment for this story, but Bolton of MHE Properties defended their work.

"We are trying to provide the very best units in area, and spending so much money to do it, and it seems like the city's trying to come back and slap us in the face," he said.

Ramsing said now that the initial safety concerns of the building have been addressed, the city will begin a longer process of determining what other codes may have been violated during the construction process over the summer.

"We'll hopefully be able to work this out with (the city)," Akiva said. "They've been very helpful so far ... we're hoping this won't cause any long term issues."



jhiggins@dailyemerald.com

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