By Maria Grzywa —
There was great uncertainty across campus if 503 Broadway apartments would be ready to rent by fall 2015 as claimed by the company. Much to students’ surprise, the apartments were completed in time for the start of the school year and with time to spare. Students and Menomonie residents were overjoyed with the quality and luxury offered by 503, they thought nothing could bring them down. Or so it seemed.
Monday, September 7, just six short days after residents were allowed to move into 503 Broadway, proved to be anything but happy… or dry for that matter.
The fire alarm at 503 Broadway went off around 2 a.m. Monday morning. It is said that a resident on the fourth floor left the oven on and fell asleep. After the alarm went off the sprinkler system came on in said apartment and continued to stay on for several hours.
Gunnar Morkri, a junior in the Cross Media Graphics Management major at University of Wisconsin–Stout and a resident of 503, explained how dramatic the water damage was, due to the sprinklers continuously running. “While it was running it put out a ton of water, so the damage was kind of extensive,” commented Morkri.
Apparently the apartment in question flooded, causing water to seep into the walls and down to all other floors in the building. Due to the walls’ water damages the building’s maintenance feared electrical damage throughout the whole building.
Overall the experience was quite inconvenient for all residents, including Morkri. “We all had to wait in the parking lot for an hour and half before being told we wouldn’t be allowed to go back in for a while,” said Morkri.
A while in this case being several hours. Residents were let back into the building at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.
“We all had to scramble to make plans for the night,” Morkri complained.
Despite the inconvenience, all residents were safe and the building will also be fine with the help of some extra maintenance. “The management has been very thorough about taking extra steps throughout the week to make sure everything is fixed,” explained Morkri.
Fans have been rented to be placed in all water-damaged spots throughout the building and the apartment where the sprinklers went off is being fixed thoroughly and quickly.
Morkri commented on the excellent customer service of 503 Broadway and understands this was a fluke accident. Everyone in 503’s luxury apartments can continue to live wetter… I mean better, on Broadway.