Students living in Evolve apartments have dealt with delayed move-ins and unfinished units, and are now being asked to move out.
Property Manager Sarah Maxon said in an email to the Indiana Daily Student on Sept. 18 that residents were required to move out while a water leak was repaired.
“Our goal is to have them back into their unit before a week's time,” Maxon said in the email.
Students received an email from Evolve asking them to respond by Sept. 14, so Evolve could create a repair schedule.
Junior Beau Mansker and sophomore Claire Scahill said they have been asked to move out but are not yet sure when they will have to.
The leak is causing mold to appear in students’ units. Mansker said there is mold above his shower.
“Just seeing the mold is frustrating,” said Mansker.
He said the situation is a major inconvenience because he will have to pack clothes and make sure all perishable food is taken care of before leaving.
Students are not expected to move their furniture, as they were told everything will be bubble-wrapped for protection during the repairs.
This temporary evacuation comes after construction delays forced some students to move in later than the original move-in date. All students have been able to move in now, but construction is ongoing.
“There is construction everyday,” Scahill said. “Me and my roommates wake up to it every morning at 7 a.m.”
Mansker and Scahill were able to move in on the scheduled day but reported issues with their units when they moved in.
“Move-in was horrible,” Scahill said. “There was so much construction going on still. There were a bunch of angry parents. We weren’t aware that it would look the way it did.”
Scahill’s roommate’s floor was soaked with water when they moved in. Fans had to be brought in to dry it out, and Scahill’s roommate wasn’t able to move her things into her room for a few days.
“No one really expected it to be like this,” Scahill said.
She said she felt the pictures Evolve was posting on its Instagram prior to move-in made the building appear more completed than it was.
Mansker said his unit was covered in dust and that a lot of things were still unpainted when he moved in.
For the current mold issue, residents have two choices. They can either choose to be put in a hotel and receive $60 dollars a night, or find housing with someone they know and get $150 a day plus a daily rent credit while the leak is repaired.
Mansker opted to stay with a friend because he was not sure what hotel he would be put in. He also said that he calculated it would be a much better value to get the $150 dollars and rent credit. The rent credit gets credited to their accounts with Evolve, but Mansker said he was unsure how he would be receiving the additional stipend.
Mansker and Scahill said Evolve has credited back August rent and is giving half off September rent.
“I know I’m getting compensation for this in rent, but I’ve paid for this apartment for all of the amenities and then the amenities are not even all done yet,” Mansker said.
Most issues mentioned have been fixed.
Mansker said when they make maintenance requests, the work is done quickly, though he added there is still a cabinet in his kitchen that is missing studs.
“I will say they are working their butts off here to get this stuff done,” he said.
Mansker said after living in Evolve for a month, he can see how much has been accomplished in the project.
“But having said that, I’ve lived here for a month and all this was supposed to be done a month ago,” Mansker said.
