Tenants of 8-story Chicago apartment building left with no elevator service for weeks
CHICAGO (CBS) – Residents of an eight-story apartment building in Hyde Park have been experiencing a weekslong nightmare due to having no elevator service.
Since July, coming and going has meant a hike up or down the stairs, but what's taking so long to get the problem fixed?
Step by step, one of the building's tenants, who did not want to be identified, had to lug her bag of laundry up seven flights of stairs.
"We have to stop for a break," she said.
She has asthma, and it's difficult for her to breathe.
"When it's really hot outside, it's unbearable in this stairwell," she said. "It gets really hot, and sometimes the floors are slippery."
She has to carry her laundry up the stairs because her elevators have been out for about six weeks.
"It is unbearable in this stairwell," she said.
Walk into the building's lobby, and there are two elevators, one which says it's on the seventh floor and the other one is on the first floor. Another tenant, who also didn't want to be identified, said the elevators stopped working after a power outage in late July.
"It's awful," the resident said. "It's uncomfortable, and everything changed."
The building, called The Versailles Apartments, is owned by TLC Management Company.
In a statement, the management company said the elevator equipment experienced an electrical fire, causing both elevators to stop:
"On 7/27/24. The elevator equipment at 5254 S. Dorchester experienced an electrical fire, rendering both elevators non-operational. Our third-party elevator contractor came on-site the same day for an assessment and ordered both temporary and permanent parts to make the repairs. Unfortunately, the equipment is specialized and not readily available. TLC Management approved large, expedited fees to get these parts as soon as possible, which was about 4-6 weeks. The final temporary part is scheduled to arrive early next week and will be installed immediately. We will then have one functioning elevator in the building while we wait for the more permanent parts to arrive (10-12 weeks) and bring both elevators back into service. The company said one elevator will work, while it waits for the more permanent parts to arrive in about three months to finally bring both elevators back into service."
Residents were still left frustrated at the situation.
"It wouldn't hurt them to compensate us for inconveniencing us or rent credits," said one resident.
Tenants were planning to have a meeting Thursday night to address the issues with the elevators.
City inspectors went out to the building at least three times last month. CBS News Chicago was told that supply chain issues within the elevator industry.
One of the tenants said they called the management company and asked if they'd get compensated. They were told they would, but it's unclear when that would happen.