Evacuated residents of The Algonquin in Hyde Park say they're being allowed to break leases
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Residents who have been evacuated from two towers with no power at The Algonquin apartment complex in Hyde Park are being allowed to move out permanently.
A resident of one of the buildings told CBS 2 that management said the landlord is allowing residents to break their leases and will be covering costs and moving fees. The resident has been staying in a hotel and is looking for a new home with their partner.
The city said power went out at the complex on Friday of last week and again on Saturday.
ComEd tried to fix the outages. But the utility said the demand was higher than what it could supply at the time at two of the six buildings that make up The Algonquin – a 1951 residential development designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and located along Cornell Avenue between 50th and 51st streets.
The tenants' ordeal started when the power first went out this past Friday afternoon, right before the cold snap hit the Chicago area. They were left with no heat, and little explanation.
It was not until Saturday that they were offered vouchers to stay at a hotel.
When CBS 2's Marybel González visited Tuesday night, two of the complex's towers remained in the dark – with the "do not enter" signs from the City of Chicago deeming them unsafe. That meant residents couldn't even get in to gather their belongings.
In emails sent to tenants and forwarded to us, Mac Properties – the company that owns the complex – blamed the power outage on a transformer failure affecting two of their buildings. They said they were working with the city and ComEd to restore the power, but did not say when that will happen.
Chicago Department of Buildings spokesman Michael Puccinelli issued this statement Tuesday night:
"The properties at 1617 E. 50th Place and 1607 E. 50th Place experienced a power outage on Friday. DOB responded on Saturday after the second failure. There was an effort by Com Ed to replace the electrical infrastructure that supplied power to the two buildings. Unfortunately, the power demand coming from the buildings was higher than what Com Ed could supply at that time.
"The property owner must hire an electrical engineer and electrical contractor to obtain the proper electrical permits. They must work with Com Ed on a solution for the replacement of the electrical infrastructure so that it can safely meet the power demands of the buildings. Only after that work is completed, can power be restored to the two buildings.
"Once the property owner completes the above, the buildings can be safely re-occupied."
Late Thursday, the tenant said the two towers that are without power will not be reopening until further notice.
Friday afternoon, Mac Properties confirmed the two buildings were closed on Dec. 23, due to the power outage:
Since then, Mac Properties has worked diligently to provide relocation assistance to all impacted residents. In total, 137 households including 181 individuals were displaced. We are currently sheltering 85 households in local hotels, while others are away for holiday travel or have arranged to stay elsewhere. As people return home, Mac Properties continues to secure new shelter arrangements.
All residents have been provided with shelter within hours of the power outage. Mac Properties has established a 24/7 response line for impacted Algonquin residents. Mac Properties is also offering no-cost transfers to available Mac Properties apartment for those who so choose. Additionally Mac Properties is fulfilling all applicable provisions an obligations under the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance.
Mac Properties continues to work closely with ComEd and the City of Chicago to restore heat as quickly as possible to the two affected buildings.
Algonquin tenants who need assistance can contact Peter Cassel at Mac Properties at 773-619-5649 or pcassel@macapartments.com