KnightNews.com’s Questions:
from KnightNews.com
to Chad Binette
date Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 12:59 PM
subject Questions for story we are working on
Chad,
We got a tip from our new KnightNews.com Fights for You section about Pegasus Landing forcing students to move to the Towers in the middle of the semester.
The student, who is allowing us to use his name in the story, says he is upset because he no longer has his own bathroom, his life was disrupted, he wasn’t given the help he was led to believe he would have in moving and had to have a friend drive over with his vehicle to help move, because his car was too small.
The bathroom is a big issue for him, because privacy was important to him, and he also is facing tough financial times and now has to buy his own toilet paper, whereas in Pegasus Landing it did not — that’s how hard off he is. We wanted to confirm that toilet paper policy with you, however, because it did sound a little weird. He also says he was first told to leave everything he wanted in storage in his Landing bathroom, only to have to come back a second time days later and move it all over to the new place, because they changed their minds. He says it has disrupted his academic studies as well.
He also says he was not allowed to get out of his contract to move to a cheaper place. He is from Columbia, and his parents still live there. They’ve fallen on very tough times, and he had hoped to live with a friend, and is upset he is being told he can’t get out of his contract, even though he was forced to move into a one-bathroom facility.
Here are our questions:
1. How come Pegasus Landing’s contract is not voided when Pegasus Landing/UCF Res Life have forced him to move?
2. Why wasn’t he given the option to move to a cheaper place?
3. How long is he allowed to stay in the towers? Will he get the same amount of time on his lease?
4. How many students are impacted by this?
5. How much notice as given?
Also, please let Grant know we are discussing our options with our attorney as well as the ACLU and FIRE, and we have been advised not to do that phone conversation with him until they have more time to review our situation. Tell him we apologize for that, but it’s now gotten out of our hands.
We will hold off on this story until the end of the day at least, to give you guys time to respond. If we need to go into the weekend, that’s fine.
Sincerely,
Andrew Stein
UCF Statement:
UCF Requests Property Management Company Relocate 21 Students from Pegasus Landing
ORLANDO, Fla – The University of Central Florida has requested that College Park Management TRS, Inc., the property management company that operates Pegasus Landing apartments, relocate 21 students after mold was discovered in one building.
UCF and College Park Management were informed on Feb. 23 that water intrusion into one part of Building 4 at Pegasus Landing led to mold being detected in seven apartment units. More work is needed to determine the full extent of the damage, and out of an abundance of caution, UCF requested that the property management company move the residents out of those seven units.
Several of the students already have been relocated. UCF’s Spring Break begins Friday, and students will be moved prior to that. College Park Management and UCF are assisting students with the move.
College Park Management told UCF it has taken air-quality samples in several of the affected units, and air-quality results were within acceptable limits.
Pegasus Landing is a UCF-affiliated housing complex. College Park Management is responsible for operating the complex. UCF police officers patrol the property, and the university provides resident assistants and academic advisors for students.
Pegasus Landing houses about 2,500 students in 595 apartments in 34 buildings. The complex includes two-, three- and four-bedroom units. Building 4 is part of Pegasus Landing Phase I, which was built in 1996.
Residents are students at higher education institutions in the area. About 90 percent of the residents in fall 2009 attended UCF.
Residents who are moving can relocate to other parts of Pegasus Landing or other area accommodations.
Although some of the alternate locations have higher rents, students who relocate will not pay more. The rent for a student to live at Pegasus Landing is $545 per month for a four-bedroom unit, $565 for a three-bedroom unit and $640 for a two-bedroom unit. Each resident has a private bedroom and private bathroom.
As a precaution, UCF has requested that College Park Management immediately perform air-quality tests in comparable units in the other Phase I buildings at the Landing. Phase I houses about 750 students in 10 buildings.
UCF also has requested that College Park Management immediately develop a comprehensive plan on how to address this issue. Residents who have further questions can contact College Park Management at 407.362.5190 or 407.362.5194.
