More than 200 students have been shacking up in hotel rooms for the past week because of delayed construction at a new student apartment complex.
The Seasons apartments, 811 E. Wetmore Road, was expected to be finished Aug. 21, but that date has been pushed back indefinitely, said Carl Saul, superintendent of The Seasons' construction.
"Our plans were very deficient and that is really the main reason this complex is late getting open," Saul said.
For the first week of school only two of the five buildings at the complex were completely finished and occupied, said Marianne Palko, community manager of The Seasons.
More students were able to move in over the weekend when a third building's construction was completed.
But the students whose buildings are not yet finished are temporarily living at the Holiday Inn Express, 620 E. Wetmore Road, or alternate apartments. Each hotel room houses between two and four students, Palko said.
"We have 80 rooms at the Holiday Inn Express alone," Palko said.
Students are also using 12 rooms at the Comfort Suites, 515 W. Auto Mall Drive, said Jackie Pesina, general manager of the hotel.
The Seasons agreed to pay for the 92 hotel rooms and for storage facilities where students can keep their belongings. The Seasons also agreed to hire movers to help students when their apartments are ready.
"There was a construction problem, and no one could foresee that," Palko said. "We want the business to be in good standing, and we want to make the best of the circumstances we're in."
Students who signed a lease to live in one of the last two buildings still waiting for completion can expect to stay in their hotel room at least another two or three weeks, Palko said.
Todd Bedrick, an accounting senior, said when he signed his lease at The Seasons, he was told his room would likely be ready by the beginning of August.
It's nearing September and he is still living in a hotel room.
"They make your bed for you and that's nice," he said. "But besides that, it's kind of a pain."
Brittany Price, a political science junior, said although her apartment building was finished by the time she moved in, there were still many problems she had to deal with that resulted from the "deficient planning."
"It's just a huge construction site and there are workers everywhere," Price said. "The drilling and all the construction going on is disrupting our studies and such."
In addition to construction annoyances, Prince said when she first moved in there were still holes in the walls and the Internet had not been set up. The Seasons management offered tenants $30 off their first month's rent, but it does not compensate for the problems, Price said.
"I think they had the potential to have a really nice place here to live," she said. "They promised us a whole lot, and they're not really delivering."