When Candice Carpenter signed her lease to live in Chestnut Hall, she envisioned her future home as a 10th-floor corner apartment with a view of the city. Instead, she was relocated to the fourth floor with a view of a brick wall. The 10th floor, the building management told her, would be undergoing construction.
However, the management did not tell the Penn dental student that she might have to change locations again.
The management of Chestnut Hall -- located at 3900 Chestnut St. -- notified residents last Sunday that they "may be voluntarily asked to relocate" while the building undergoes electrical work and sprinkler installation.
The notice followed two previous letters sent to some residents of the popular off-campus apartment building. The first letter, sent to 10th-floor residents on Sept. 17, required them to move out of their rooms within two weeks. The second letter, sent to the eighth, ninth and 10th floors on Sept. 22, changed the relocation time to 30 days.
Neither offered residents compensation or the option to stay in their apartments.
Last Sunday's letter, however, took a different tone, making relocation voluntary and offering $300, moving help, boxes and free utility transfers to residents willing to relocate.
"The current plan is for one floor to be worked on at a time after residents voluntarily leave," the letter stated. "Each floor will take approximately 30 days."
Whichever way you look at it, Carpenter said, the situation poses an inconvenience.
"You pay me money, it's a hassle," she said. Considering the time and effort that moving requires, $300 "doesn't really save very much of anything."
On Sept. 23, about 20 student tenants met with Michaela Farcas, director of Penn's Office of Off Campus Living, and a lawyer affiliated with that office.
Upon the lawyer's advice, students circulated two still-undelivered letters for interested residents to sign. One expressed the desire not to relocate under any circumstances, and the other expressed a willingness to move with compensation.
"The majority of the [letter-signers] were saying, 'No,' as opposed to compensation," said one tenant who wished to remain anonymous. "So I assume there's still going to be a lot of opposition. It will be a big inconvenience for them if everybody stays."
Chestnut Hall is jointly owned by the University of Pennsylvania, the Apartment Investment and Management Company and the California State Teachers' Retirement System. Since AIMCO took control of building management in May, all three partners have planned for facility upgrades.
In a May 31 press release, Penn's Senior Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Omar Blaik said he was excited that AIMCO would complete "life safety improvements through new sprinklers and overall facility management."
Chestnut Hall tenants, however, remained largely unaware of pending renovations.
Wharton senior Roanna Kong said she was not warned of upcoming facility work when she signed her lease in August.
"I feel like I was misled," she said.
AIMCO spokeswoman Judy Stowell acknowledged that there might have been some miscommunication with residents, but emphasized the need to perform the building improvements.
"We're sure residents will be satisfied and happy to see the final product when it's done," she said.
Some tenants, like Kong, find the management's compensation offer agreeable, but a feeling of dissatisfaction remains.
"They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Kong said. "It would have been nicer if they did this beforehand."
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