CHARLOTTE — School starts Monday for nearly 30,000 University of North Carolina Charlotte students, but many of them are scrambling to find a place to stay.
Tenants at East Village Apartments told Channel 9 that they just learned their apartment complex is still under construction and that they may not be able to move in for weeks.
One student told Channel 9 she packed up her car and was ready to move into East Village Apartments, but when she drove by she saw construction was still going on.
“I have my car packed to the brim because I’m not even from Charlotte, I’m from High Point,” said Victoria Compton.
Compton loaded up her car and drove to Charlotte a few days before she was slated to move into her new apartment.
“When I did drive by the place, since it’s brand new they are still building it and it looked very much undone still,” she said.
Three days before moving in, she said officials at the complex called and said move-in would be delayed several weeks.
“I was very devastated that move-in isn’t gonna be until September because school starts in literally four days,” Compton said.
An email to Channel 9 said the delay impacts about 500 students, and some have complained to the Attorney General.
East Village wouldn’t confirm the number of tenants affected, but a spokesperson sent Channel 9 a statement saying the complex has faced several challenges over the past few months, including “the impacts of COVID-19, material delays, shortage of labor and weather.”
The spokesperson said, “the construction team is working diligently to complete East Village … and working with residents to provide interim accommodations and options that best suit their personal needs.”
Compton told Channel 9 that East Village offered to put her up in a hotel until move-in day, but she decided to stay with a friend instead. She’s hoping officials will be able to move students in quickly.
“I’m just ready for an exact move in date, so I can have not all my stuff in my car still,” she said.
The Attorney General’s office is encouraging tenants impacted to file a complaint so that the A.G. can investigate this matter.
(Watch Below: UNCC students return to campus this week, navigating ‘new normal’)
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