Charles and Blackstone tenants allowed to return
"They'd known about this for how long? And then we have 60 days to find a new place to live, with finals? It's summer and all the good housing is gone, and we can't afford to move," she said.
"Then we found out that they had destroyed our apartment and converted it from one room to two rooms, which raised the rent."
"The Charles was our permanent home - we had no other place to go," she added.
Jelvani also experienced problems with contacting building managers over the summer.
"We tried to reach them over the summer, but they were either vague or just wouldn't answer the phone," she said.
Though the leases stated that residents would be allowed to move in "on or around Sept. 1," Jelvani said that no one was allowed to move in on Sept. 1 because the building was not deemed safe.
Several other students complained about the lack of cooperation on the part of the building managers over the summer. Hopkins contracts WP&M real estate group to manage the Charles and Blackstone Apartments, who were unavailable for comment.
"They were totally unhelpful and didn't specify a move-in date at all," one student said.
"All they would say was that they were not sure because of the construction that was going on."
The managing company WP&M, Housing and Dining Services and Dean Susan Boswell did not return repeated attempts for a comment.
Dembeck cites uncertainties in the construction schedule and safety issues to the lack of communication on the part of the management.
"We did not receive target occupancy dates from the Baltimore County Fire Marshall until Aug. 30, and then we informed residents. We could not legally allow people to occupy the building before then," he said.
"As a courtesy, we told residents that they could leave their belongings in the buildings if they were returning after the summer. They had to sign a waiver for leaving their furniture, agreeing only to leave large items, like dressers and beds, in four boxes, sealed and taped. They were told to take electronics out of the apartments," Dembeck said.
"Then we found out that they had destroyed our apartment and converted it from one room to two rooms, which raised the rent."
"The Charles was our permanent home - we had no other place to go," she added.
Jelvani also experienced problems with contacting building managers over the summer.
"We tried to reach them over the summer, but they were either vague or just wouldn't answer the phone," she said.
Though the leases stated that residents would be allowed to move in "on or around Sept. 1," Jelvani said that no one was allowed to move in on Sept. 1 because the building was not deemed safe.
Several other students complained about the lack of cooperation on the part of the building managers over the summer. Hopkins contracts WP&M real estate group to manage the Charles and Blackstone Apartments, who were unavailable for comment.
"They were totally unhelpful and didn't specify a move-in date at all," one student said.
"All they would say was that they were not sure because of the construction that was going on."
The managing company WP&M, Housing and Dining Services and Dean Susan Boswell did not return repeated attempts for a comment.
Dembeck cites uncertainties in the construction schedule and safety issues to the lack of communication on the part of the management.
"We did not receive target occupancy dates from the Baltimore County Fire Marshall until Aug. 30, and then we informed residents. We could not legally allow people to occupy the building before then," he said.
"As a courtesy, we told residents that they could leave their belongings in the buildings if they were returning after the summer. They had to sign a waiver for leaving their furniture, agreeing only to leave large items, like dressers and beds, in four boxes, sealed and taped. They were told to take electronics out of the apartments," Dembeck said.
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