Pittsburgh apartment building residents ordered to evacuate after condemnation notice
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some residents of an apartment building in Pittsburgh have been ordered to evacuate by the city due to broken elevators.
In a news release on Friday, the city said the Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections issued a condemnation notice and evacuation order for Skyvue Apartments on Forbes Avenue in the city's Oakland neighborhood.
Authorities said the order was issued after "an urgent evaluation of the building's elevators" after emergency crews on Thursday had to carry a resident in need of medical attention down the stairs due to all four elevators being broken. The city said residents on floors five through 13 are required to evacuate by 7 p.m. on Friday.
"Given requirements in state and local building and fire codes, high-rise buildings are required to have an appropriate number of operable elevators to ensure that residents can safely move throughout the building," the city said in the news release on Friday.
The city said inspection crews found the elevators were inoperable on Friday, which led to the condemnation notice and evacuation order. Skyvue Apartments will remain closed until at least one of the elevators is repaired and passes inspection by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, officials said.
"Skyvue Apartments management team has made PLI aware that they're working to repair at least one elevator," the city said in the news release.
Impacted residents are urged to contact building management "immediately" to set up alternative living arrangements, the city said.
A Skyvue Apartments resident showed KDKA an email from building management. It said to pack enough for at least a week away, but added that the elevators could be fixed as soon as Monday.
Skyvue Apartments is a Greystar property less than 10 years old. In a statement on Friday night, Skyvue said:
"The well-being of our residents is our top priority. In compliance with the city's order, Skyvue is providing hotel accommodations and support to residents who need temporary housing while the elevators are being repaired.
"Our elevator service vendor is working overtime to expedite repairs and ensure the elevators meet all city standards. We remain in close communication with our residents and will continue to provide updates on the progress. We are optimistic that they will be able to return to their apartments soon."
This isn't the first time the building has faced issues. In 2019, an electrical fire temporarily forced residents to evacuate. A month later, the building was cited for failing to maintain a fully functioning fire alarm system.
Skyvue Apartments residents left without many options
A recent Carnegie Mellon University graduate who lives at the apartment building said his flight out of the city is on Monday. He does not know what to do this weekend.
"We need to empty the room, right?" the recent grad said. "We need to move all the furniture to the third floor or to the downstairs to sell them. Or just throw them away. ... Greystar's doing nothing about it."
Eric Lin said he and his friends have complained to building management about the faulty elevators.
"They never gave us a concrete response," Lin said. "They just promised things would get fixed."
The building is putting impacted residents in rooms at a nearby hotel. It's not much of a consolation for people who weren't ready to move out.
"We went to the office and asked them what should we do. And they told me that there was nothing they could do," one resident said.
A former resident told KDKA that while living there in 2019, they were forced to walk up multiple flights of steps because all of the elevators were down.