Update:'We literally have nowhere to live': Clemson apartment turns students away on move in day

A student apartment building which opened in August 2017 has had to move students to hotel rooms due to issues with part of the building foundation.

At least 80 students had to leave their units after the foundation in the building settled 2 inches, causing a crack in the floor and leading to sewer problems, Todd Steadman, director of planning and codes for the city, said.

Caroline Ryan is a resident at 114 Earle. Her sister lived in the building before her, and Ryan moved in because of the close distance to campus and big courtyard where she can walk her dog.

But, in the past month, Ryan's experience with 114 Earle has become "demotivating."

When Ryan, a graphic communications major from Charleston, returned from winter break to her third floor unit, she found all of their belongings moved toward the center of the rooms and the carpeting torn up due to flooding from a water pressure spike. She was moved to a hotel for eight days before getting to return. Rugs, baskets and a mattress topper in her unit were all damaged from the water.

Then on Feb. 1, she was informed by email she would have to move out again, this time because of the foundation. The city had been informed about the issues by a student and insisted that the residents leave until they were certain the building was safe, Steadman said.

As Ryan worked to gather her belongings and gather things from her bathroom on Friday, she noticed her toilet "gurgling" and screamed.

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She got a hold of someone in maintenance: the issue was yellow expanding structural foam coming out of her toilet. The building was trying to use the foam to fix some of the foundation issues when they hit a sewer line, sending it into the pipes. Although her unit is on the third floor of the building, it is on ground level because of the varied grading.

Ryan took pictures of the building and her unit as issues unfolded. In one image of the hallway, a gaping ditch can be seen. In another, a large crack cuts through the middle of the hall. The impacted hall is on the wing of the building adjacent to the parking deck.

On Monday, an engineer for the city visited the building and deemed it structurally safe. Most students who were told to leave will be allowed to return, with the exception of 11 students who live on the bottom floor. Steadman said the cracked floor there remains a tripping hazard.

"This is not safe, and we are a bunch of students here for our education and now we are having to deal with this," said Ryan, who pays $1,000 a month to live at 114 Earle.

Ryan said a representative from Campus Apartments LLC, the national company that manages 114 Earle, has been on site and helping resolve problems, but she said the situation remains "sketchy."

"There are other places to live that are better," Ryan said. "The uncertainty isn't worth it."

Ann Whitney, a resident on the fifth floor of 114 Earle, was also moved to a hotel when the water in her area of the building was cut off due to the sewer problem.

Whitney said she feels the building management has not done a satisfactory job communicating with residents about the cause of the problems.

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"114 Earle is working with the City of Clemson to address a subterranean plumbing issue that occurred during the repair of a settlement crack in a single corridor in the rear of the building," 114 Earle's management said in an emailed statement. "We made a decision to provide alternate housing in nearby hotels for select residents to ensure their comfort and safety during these repairs."

While Whitney said not all of the problems in her two years at the building are the fault of management--some are due to unruly residents--she also would not recommend it to future students.

"It is too big of a place to manage all of these people," Whitney said.

Steadman said the city is still trying to determine forensically what caused the issues.

The building will still need to resolve the "longer term" issue of the settlement, Steadman said.

"This particular circumstance has nothing to do with concerns I've heard over poorly built student housing or concrete and steel construction versus wooden," Steadman said. "This is about settlement of sediment."