After attention was brought to students’ living conditions at The Enclave apartments which neighbors a slaughterhouse rent was cut by $10 for those in the two buildings closest.
But many students are complaining they haven’t received the deduction, just because they live on the opposite side of the hallway.
Out of 32 residents living on the opposite side of buildings 8 and 9 who were polled by The BG News, 20 said they think it’s unfair that a $10 discount isn’t applied to their rent as well.
Tenants in buildings 8 and 9 of The Enclave on Napoleon Road that have a balcony view of the Pioneer Packing Company were notified about their discount by letter this summer.
While Dan Brigadoi in building 8 can’t see the pork packing facility from his porch, he’s still affected.
‘It’s not like the sound stops in the middle of the hallway,’ Brigadoi said. ‘The noise can be heard all over the building.’
Since the smell of slaughtered pigs permeates throughout his apartment at least three days a week, Brigadoi and his roommates have become accustom to the stench.
‘We shouldn’t be used to smelling that kind of stuff,’ he said.
Also a tenant in building 8, Tim Volk is frustrated that neighbors just a few feet away got a price cut but he didn’t.
Enduring the same sounds and smells, Volk said he’s being treated unfairly.
‘I think it’s shady [that] just because they live two feet away, they get to pay less,’ Volk said. ‘That’s $10 I could have in my own pocket.’
A majority of the residents in buildings 8 and 9 that pay the full cost per month said although they don’t have a direct view of the slaughterhouse, it’s still a nuisance.
Living in building 9, Jessica Rahm pointed out the pigs are something tenants in the other eight buildings at the complex aren’t dealing with.
‘We’re living with something that other people aren’t,’ Rahm said.
The property was purchased from Sterling University Housing by College Park Communities, based out of Newtown Square, Pa., in March 2005.
Since the purchase, Kathleen Grim, vice president of Marketing and Communications for CPC, said they’ve been working to correct the problems.
Grim explained the price cut by saying that tenants facing the slaughterhouse have a ‘restricted view’ from their balcony.
The $10 is intended to compensate those residents for their close proximity to the packing facility.
‘We just bought this property last year, we’re just trying to make it right,’ Grim said.
This is comparable to those living in building 3, who pay more per month for a pool-side view.
But tenants in building 7, like Amanda Brinkman, believe they’re being ignored.
Though Brinkman and her roommates view of the slaughterhouse is blocked on the balcony, they have a clear view from the kitchen window and two of the four bedrooms.
‘It’s not appetizing around dinner-time,’ Brinkman said. ‘Our kitchen and half our apartment is viewing it. There’s no reason why we should not get a discount.’
Vanessa Hagan and her roommates in building 7 face the same problems as Brinkman.
Pig remnants are constantly being dumped into semi-trucks, and can be seen vividly from Hagan’s kitchen window.
The unsightly view has affected Hagan’s appetite.
‘I cannot eat that [meat] because it’s so disgusting to look at,’ she said.
Continuing to work to correct problems, Grim said the company has been collaborating with local landscape companies to plant trees along the west end of the property to block the view.
Fifty arborvitae trees fast growing trees with a one to two feet gain each year are scheduled to be planted in the next few weeks.
And if the trees don’t solve the problem, Grim assured, ‘we’ll go back to the drawing board.’
Apartments in buildings 8 and 9 with the $10 discount will now also be listed on the price sheet to allow tenants the option to pay less.
‘We’re trying to be as open and honest about this as we can and correct the situation,’ Grim said.
