Correction appended.
One year after the fire at Carriage Hill Apartments, the complex will soon receive an upgrade.
Feb. 26 marked the one-year anniversary of the fire that burned down Building 12 of Carriage Hill Apartments.
Asset Campus Housing now owns the complex. Melissa Shavce, general manager of Carriage Hill Apartments, said the complex will soon rebrand itself as Campus Heights. The company will build a new clubhouse, laundry facility, fitness center, lounge and computer lab, which will cost $2 million. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2019.
Building 12 was torn down after the fire and turned into a grassy lot. Asset Campus Housing plans build a clubhouse on that lot.
Carson Kay was taking a nap nearby in her apartment in Building 2 when she woke up to the smell of smoke. She said she initially thought it was something she left on the stove, but soon she realized she had not cooked anything.
When Kay opened the door, she said she saw billows of black smoke pouring from around the corner. She went outside to see other residents of Carriage Hill Apartments standing outside, watching Building 12 burn.
The laundry room for the apartment complex burned with Building 12. The building had just received new washers and dryers.
Kay, a doctoral student in communication studies, said she still lives in Carriage Hill Apartments but will move at the end of June. She said she's moving partly due to the lack of a laundry facility. She said residents can't hook washers and dryers up in individual apartments.
“Unfortunately, (a laundry facility) hasn’t happened yet,” Kay said. “Not having access to laundry is a bit of a struggle. You can make it work, but it is not the easiest situation.”
Kay said she has been able to budget money to take her loads to a laundromat that does a wash and fold service.
“I am a graduate teaching associate, and I am essentially on campus from 8 a.m. to 10:30 at night,” Kay said. “There isn’t a lot of time to do laundry during the week. I’ve been taking it to facility to get it washed and then take it back. I definitely want to be able to take care of it myself.”
Savannah Sanburg, a doctoral student studying communication studies, lived directly across from Building 12 at the time of the fire.
Sanburg said she received smoke damage to her furniture and had to throw it away. A few months after the fire, Sanburg said she decided to not re-sign her lease. One of the reasons she decided to move was because of the lack of laundry.
“They still don’t have laundry, which is disgusting,” Sanburg said. “It’s part of the reason I moved (somewhere else), and that was because of the lack of communication and support.”
Kay said if she had known about the new updates to Carriage Hill Apartments, she may have not made as quick of a decision to move.
“It doesn’t change my decision personally because I’ve already made arrangements to live somewhere else; however, I think that is an incredibly smart business move," Kay said. "I think that will not only help maintain the tenants that are here, but also draw in an especially more student body. Having access to a student lab would be incredible."
Correction: A previous version of this report misspelled Savannah Sanburg's name. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
