Students who were signed up to live in The Lofts at Bella Place this year will have to continue to live in temporary housing for the time-being.
After construction delays that postponed move-in at the beginning of fall semester, Park Place Real Estate predicted a move-in date of Sept. 29. Architectural and building code problems have caused that date to be postponed again.
According to Heather Kacachos, director of business operations at Park Place Real Estate, the delays pertain to the plans of the building, not to the property owners.
"The move-in has been delayed by a dispute between the architects and the city," Kacachos said.
The city and the architect disagreed about the design of the exterior stairs, even though the city approved the plans and issued a building permit with the design, according to Kacachos. The stairs as built have no safety hazard and are aligned with the 2005 building codes, according to Kacachos.
"We are going to Columbus to appeal this decision," Kacachos said. "We have applied for the appeal but no date has been set."
Kacachos said the stairs that are currently in place were approved in the original building permit by the city and pose no safety hazard or functional issue, since they meet Ohio building codes from 2005.
This leaves students unsure of when the next move-in date will be.
One Miami senior was set to live at Bella Place this fall, and is frustrated with the lack of communication with residents.
"Park Place pretty much refuses to return our calls about the status of our apartments," she said via e-mail.
Kacachos said nothing can be done, though, until the staircase issue is hammered out.
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"We will not be issued an occupancy permit until this issue is resolved," Kacachos said.
For the Miami student, though, that's not enough. Park Place Real Estate, she said, placed students in temporary housing throughout Oxford until construction was completed.
"Plan B (in case Bella Place wasn't completed) entailed us living in alternative locations," she said. "For me and my roommates, that means living across from Arby's."
Since students have already paid rent for this semester, Park Place promised to credit students' rent next semester to make up for the delay. The Park Place resident said she's happy Park Place is at least doing that much, but she's still frustrated.
"Park Place has told us that while we may seem upset by the situation, that they are too," she said. "But what they don't understand is this is supposed to be our home that we come to at night."
As the company awaits the hearing, other portions of the project are being delayed as well.
"We are continuing to work on the building, however the stairs issue is preventing us from completing some parts of the project," Kacachos said.
According to Kacachos, architects are continuing work on the project and the company is hopeful that it will be solved in a timely manner.
Alan Kyger, Oxford's economic development director, said the city is aware of the issue and hopes that it is resolved quickly.
Kyger said that the city expected Bella Place to be built to state building codes.
"To my knowledge, when the city approved plans, they assumed that it would meet Ohio building code," Kyger said.
Kyger also said that the city does not want the stairs in question to be completely removed, but hopes that the building process will result in a safe final product.
"The city is hoping to find the best and safest way to deal with this issue," Kyger said.
According to Kyger, the Bella Place building code violations in question will most likely be brought before the Ohio Board of Building Standards for appeal sometime in the next two weeks.
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