Some Northern Kentucky University students learned Monday they have to move out of their campus apartments in January because the buildings are structurally deteriorating.
On Tuesday, wood boards were put up as barricades to exterior rusty metal staircases students use to access second and third-floor units at Woodcrest Apartments on the Highland Heights campus.
Students were told they had to move Monday in an email from Arnie Slaughter Assistant vice president for student engagement and dean of students.
NKU will close Oak and Sycamore halls immediately based on a structural engineering report, according to the email. Willow Hall in Woodcrest will close in June.
"They are not unsafe," said Anna Wright, director of public relations about the apartment buildings. "Woodcrest has been inspected and reviewed by the fire marshal, and that is where the recommendation for improvements came to light. The cost associated with the repairs to continue to keep Woodcrest in compliance do not make sense long term."
Relocation starts in January, Wright said.
"Students in Oak and Sycamore halls will move to their newly assigned spaces during the week of Jan. 27-31," Wright said. "We are hiring moving companies to do the heavy lifting to move their belongings into their new space, and we will make every reasonable effort to keep roommate groups together."
"The deterioration came to our attention this fall, and the structural engineer firm’s recommendations were shared in mid-November and in early December, Wright said. "We notified students as soon as the final report was reviewed, and the decision was made."
As a public university, NKU has to be fiscally responsible with funds, she said.
"During the process of shoring and repairing sections of the Woodcrest Apartment complex this fall, we realized the deterioration was beyond what was anticipated and hired a structural engineering firm to inspect the halls," she said.
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A pair of red stockings hung in a ground-floor apartment window with a Christmas tree inside one Woodcrest apartment still on Tuesday. Some students at the apartments were still learning about the news Tuesday afternoon. One student who said he received the email yesterday said he was shocked.
"They should have at least alerted the students months ago there were concerns and be honest," said Woodcrest resident Tenneh Williams, a senior who has lived in the apartments for three years. Williams lives in Willow Hall and won't have to move before she graduates in spring.
An email over a winter break telling students they have to move is not much notice, she said.
"Don't just drop a bombshell," Williams said.
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The following is the letter sent to students Monday:
Dec. 30, 2019 Dear Students: As a public university, we must strike a balance of preserving our buildings and being responsible with our funds. There comes a time when preservation and renovation are not the best options, and we recently learned that is the case with the Woodcrest Apartment Complex. During the process of shoring and repairing sections of the complex this fall, we realized the deterioration was beyond what was anticipated and hired a structural engineering firm to inspect the halls. After reviewing their reports and faced with the condition of Woodcrest, we have come to the decision to close Oak and Sycamore Halls immediately and plan to close Willow Hall in June 2020. We understand this is abrupt news to those of you planning to return to Woodcrest for the Spring semester, and the timing is not ideal. We just received the final report earlier this month that outlined the structural engineers’ recommendations on Woodcrest. Director of University Housing David Berland will share more details on the relocation process and next steps. Please keep an eye out for his email. If you have questions related to the plans in Woodcrest, please send them to the dedicated email address: woodcrest@nku.edu. Senior staff in University Housing will work to reply to those email concerns as quickly as possible. We know this is a disruption on your lives, and we are doing everything we can to lessen the impact. We hope to have found a compromise between providing options for our students and being fiscally responsible. We recognize this will be a challenging month for many of you, and it is our desire to increase your quality of housing and move our students living here closer to the heart of campus.
Sincerely,
Arnie Slaughter Assistant Vice President for Student Engagement & Dean of Students
The Enquirer will update thisn story as more information becomes available.
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