LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Residents at Center North Luxury Apartments in Lakewood are once again living with no air conditioning.
This comes as communities across Northeast Ohio record their hottest temperatures of 2023.
"It's like a sauna," said one resident. "It's so hot," another resident added. "The past few days have been pretty stuffy," said another.
For the past six days, residents have had to deal with the consequences of no working air conditioning, while most of the buildings windows cannot be opened. On Tuesday, the thermostat in one unit read 86 degrees, and another read 85 degrees.
"We go out, it's 87 degrees and then come back in and there's no relief," said Colleen Bodkin, a resident at Center North.
Bodkin and others dealt with AC issues in July, when residents didn't have working air conditioning for weeks. Fellow tenant Shelley Webber also calls it inconvenient.
"It's been hard, I'm not going to lie," she said. "I feel like, mentally, it's taxing. It's hot. It's hard to cook in your apartment. I mean, my dog, I worry about her."
Center North is described as a luxury apartment building, however many residents don't view it as such.
The building's property management company sent an email over the holiday weekend to tell residents a technician would visit after the holiday weekend. However, after another email from the property management which advised residents that temperatures would cool down as the week progresses, many think it will take longer to fix the issue.
"That makes me think they're not fixing anything anytime soon," said Bodkin.
Residents told 3News that Center North compensated them for the issues in July, however they add they haven't gotten anything this time. WKYC did obtain a new email sent Tuesday from Premiere Property Management to tenants:
"There is no new news to report. The technicians have been at the building for 2 days, and have not yet found the source of the problem with the compressor.
"They believe that original issue that caused the control board to go bad, may have something to do with this problem. Unfortunately, when large chillers such as these go down, its not as simple as taking out the bad 'part' and replacing it. Because of the complexity of these chillers, there are series and series of diagnosis that go into determining the issue. There is no one that wants this unit up and running as badly as the ownership, and as we have reported, we are doing everything that is available to us, with no limitations, to get the building cooled down as soon as is possible. We have put forth to you the same information as we are receiving. We have been in constant contact with the techs every few hours over the last 2 days.
"The following statement is from the head tech… we found that the compressor had failed on a 16384 alarm (Compressor CC fault 250 volt DC). We contacted Smardt (Chiller manufacturer) and was able to interface with the chiller but received no diagnostic communication at that time. Yesterday (Tuesday) we remapped some points in the program to allow Smardt manufacturer to connect to the chiller. At this time the problem was determined to be on the Danfoss compressor side. We then connected to the Danfoss compressor, were unable to get diagnostic information from the compressor. Today (Wednesday), we have down loaded updated software from Danfoss and are working diligently to determine the exact problem with the compressor. Once we have determined the failure we will notify you and order the needed materials..
"The techs have prepared the outside air vents to be opened 100% once the temperatures drop starting late tomorrow. When the temperatures are in the 50’s and 60’s that air will lower the temps in the building back to acceptable levels. With those lower outside temperatures, the chiller doesn’t typically run, but rely on outside air to cool the biulding. No one can anticipate a large mechanical breakdown, but unfortunately it happens in buildings every day. We are not immune to it, but we take any breakdown very seriously, and will not stop until it is resolved"
The company has sent an ice cream truck to provide some cool refreshments. Tenants aren't particularly impressed.
"I mean, it's a nice gesture," Webber said, "but we just want to be comfortable."
Lakewood City Councilman Jason Shachner represents the residents of Center North Luxury Apartments in his Ward 2. He gave the following statement to 3News:
"I am frustrated and disappointed that these residents are again having to endure another AC equipment failure. I hope that management makes tenants who had to find alternate housing whole. In the meantime, I encourage tenants to contact the Lakewood Municipal Court to ask how they can put their rent in escrow until the issues are fixed. I am sorry that this is occurring, but I am heartened by the stories I hear of the residents helping each other during this challenging time."
Previous Reporting:
- Air conditioning finally restored to Lakewood apartment complex after 3 weeks of non-stop heat
- Lakewood apartment residents demand answers after 3 weeks with no air conditioning
- 3News Investigates: As Lakewood apartment building continues without A/C, records show past financial trouble for managing company
- Residents of Lakewood high-rise apartment complex demand answers after 2 weeks without air conditioning