Multiple apartment complexes in the Wilmington area evacuated their tenants in October after finding damage in their buildings from Hurricane Florence.
 
In letters to residents, property managers stated that damage from Hurricane Florence made the apartment units unsafe for occupation, and as of press time, it was still uncertain for at least two apartment communities in the area when repairs will take place and when residents might be able to come back.
 
When asked how long it will take for the Still Meadow Village apartment complex to be repaired, Kevin Thompson, chief marketing officer at Carlisle Residential Properties, Still Meadow’s management company, said it would be months.
 
About half of the residents at Still Meadow Village, located off South College Road, received a letter asking them to move out by Oct. 9. Most of the vacated residents lived on the third and second floors.
 
Thompson said Carlisle doesn’t have a timeline on when repairs might start or when residents might be able to move back in.
 
The apartment’s operations team is working with contractors in the area to get repairs underway, he said.
 
Carlisle Residential Properties officials sent out a letter to tenants stating that their leases would be canceled, which was an error they subsequently notified tenants about, Thompson said.
 
While it is not known when tenants would be able to move back in, he said all tenants are encouraged to come back with no rent increase.
 
“All security deposits have all been issued back,” he said. “Anyone that wants to come back, we will keep the terms of the lease the same and we will be waiving the application fees and they can come back hopefully as seamlessly as possible.”
 
At The Glen Apartments, an apartment complex at 4641 Fillmore Drive across from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, residents received a notice stating they had to move out by Oct. 8.
 
The entire apartment complex closed due to microbial growth making it an unhealthy living environment, said Monty Hagler, spokesperson with Phillips Management Group, The Glen Apartment’s managing company.
 
While most residents moved out by that date, many were given more time to move out, Hagler said.
 
Like officials at Carlisle Residential Properties, officials at Phillips Management Group do not yet know a general timeline of when repairs might take place.
 
“At this time, we do not have any plans or updates that we can share,” Hagler said. “Those conversations are still undergoing.”
 
Most of the hurricane impacts to the apartments were from water, wind and roof damage to about 80 percent of the units, Hagler said.
 
More information was available regarding repair timelines for Market North Apartments, an apartment complex near the intersection of Market Street and South Kerr Avenue that offers subsidized housing.
 
Repairs at the units are already underway, which required Market North’s 700 residents to be relocated for six months so those changes can take place, according to an Oct. 22 Market North status report.
 
Officials at PK Management, which manages Market North, sent a letter to residents notifying them to vacate by Oct.22, but some residents received an extension if needed.
 
Most of the damage at Market North comprised of water and wind damage in the walls inside the units.
 
Residents who choose to move back will be able to without a change in their previous rates, according to statements from PK Management officials.
 
“Above all, residents should rest assured that their unit remains theirs—it will not be given away or have its rent increased,” PK Management officials said in a statement. “We are looking forward to the day when we can help them move back in just as much as they are.”