Construction delays with new Brookside apartment displaces many

Some residents of the new Brookside location at Sixth and Elm streets are living in the MU residence halls and other Brookside properties.

Construction of the new apartment is not finished, so property managers have paid the university to house some of the expected tenants. Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the company, said a “construction delay” led to the need for a temporary deal, but he expected those residents to move into the new Brookside location this week.

University spokesman Christian Basi said the lease agreement with Real Equity Management involves 72 students for 13 days. Real Equity Management will pay $26,208, with the option for a day-to-day lease after that worth $28 per day per student.

Cardetti told ABC 17 News that early site preparation took longer than expected. That includes hooking up the building to utilities like sewer and water. Due to the age of the utilities, though, crews had to completely replace some of the pipes serving the area.

“Here, we did need to replace pipes and re-route pipes, so a little more extensive than the site prep that’s usually done,” Cardetti said.

Crews have closed several roads around the project for the last year. Some roads remain closed nearby as the city works to replace sewer and water lines in the area.

City building inspector John Simon told ABC 17 News that ongoing work on the apartment’s garage and first-floor sprinkler system kept them from issuing an occupancy permit. He anticipated those problems would be fixed this week.

Cardetti said that the company was offering those displaced by the delays prorated rent for August and a $150 gift card.