It's been two weeks since the long-awaited move-in day at UFORA, and resident Jordan Floyd said there are still concerns post move-in day.
After arriving to her brand-new fully furnished apartment, Floyd said multiple items were missing including the fridge, bed side tables and the chair for the living room.
As of Oct. 25, she is still without the bed side tables in all four bedrooms and the chair. Despite putting in a maintenance service request, she hasn’t been given a response or any updates on when she should expect to receive them.
“It's concerning because we are still missing them, and we have no idea when we will get them,” Floyd said.
UFORA finally installed her fridge on Oct. 17, but before then her and her three other roommates were sharing a mini fridge and given $50 a day until they could deliver one.
“Although there have been issues, I appreciate how hard UFORA is working to make this process smoother and help out each resident,” she said.
After a long and frustrating two month wait, residents at UFORA, located at 1218 SW 5th Ave in Gainesville, were finally able to move into their new homes on Oct. 14.
The months-long move-in delays began in July when UFORA first announced that the initial move-in date on Aug. 5 was postponed due to contractor delays.
Residents received notice of several more delays in August, September and October. UFORA announced that move-in dates would be pushed back even further due to Hurricane Idalia, the City of Gainesville’s ongoing life-safety inspections and furniture installations.
On Oct. 13, at 4 p.m. residents received an email giving them their move in window for the following day. Move in began on Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. giving some students less than 15 hours to pack up their stuff and prepare.
“It was super short notice and I think extremely inconsiderate of everyone moving in,” said UFORA resident Lauren Debautte. “I had two exams on Monday to prepare for so it was super stressful.”
UFORA hired movers to unload residents’ vehicles and transport their belongings into their units.
“It was a mad house,” Debautte said. “Everyone was everywhere, but it was relatively easy with the help of the movers hired.”
On Oct. 18, residents woke to the fire alarm blaring at 8 a.m. causing them to rush out in panic. Floyd said she heard the alarm was triggered by someone burning their breakfast on the eighth floor, which forced everyone to evacuate the building.
“Although nothing ended up happening, I was walking back from class when I saw the fire trucks at UFORA and instantly panicked at the thought of a fire on day three of living in our new apartment,” Floyd said.
Construction on the amenities residents were promised including the pool, gym and common areas have yet to be finished.
On move-in day UFORA told some residents amenities would be done in 2-3 weeks, but no update or announcements have been made.
“I want to be able to actually use the amenities that I am currently paying for,” said UFORA resident Sitara Hoque.
Victoria Aldazabal lives nearby and said the noise from the construction is bothering her.
“Living in a townhouse across the street from where UFORA is being built, I’m woken up most mornings to the sound of construction,” Aldazabal said. “I’ve been excited for UFORA to finish construction since last Fall and although it took a while, they seem to finally be finishing up.”
Due to the conditions before move-in day approached, Floyd explained some UFORA residents decided to end their lease on Oct. 5, and sign at Sweetwater apartments because the living situation was affecting their grades.