Water leaks in North St. André Apartments, affected residents relocate to Teresa Hall
Three rooms on each floor in the north wing of St. André Apartments were affected by a water leak caused by a burst coil on the roof. Students were relocated to Teresa Hall until further notice.
On Friday, Feb. 4, students reported leaks in the North St. André Apartments to resident assistants and directors. Affected residents were temporarily moved from their apartments to Teresa Hall.
“I woke up this morning to water coming out of the ceiling,” resident Kyle McDaniel said. “It was slowly coming through, but it was a ton of water. My clothes and bedding were completely soaked and my laptop got wet. I don’t really know the full extent of the damage, but there’s only so much you can do.”
According to Willi Chavez, grounds manager of facilities, the cause of the leak was a burst air conditioning coil on the roof of the north side of St. André. The coil is aluminum and likely froze due to the weather, causing it to expand and burst. The leak affected rooms on the fifth, fourth and third floors of the north side.
“The water came through the ceiling, even through the fire detectors,” Jay Motheral, a resident in an affected room, said.
In November 2018, the same apartment complex, formerly known as the Pavillions, flooded after a pipe unexpectedly burst. Students affected were relocated to East Hall, hotels across Austin and West Campus near the University of Austin.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, Residence Life released a statement over email to residents regarding the ongoing situation.
“Please be assured that we are currently addressing the situation and are actively assessing the function of other coils to avoid any other burst,” the statement said.
Hilltop Views reached out to ResLife and the St. André resident director Tyler Rhoads for additional comment but was referred back to the above statement.
In addition to St. Edward’s own facilities team, ServePro, a fire and water restoration company, came to campus to support water remediation.
“Maintenance is doing their best,” Motheral said. “They’ve been awesome.”
Isabel Garcia, a resident in an affected room, noticed the wall above her apartment’s exit door was swollen that morning.
“It slowly began to bubble then burst,” said Garcia. “Then the lights started leaking water.”
Water damage now riddles the hallway, bathroom and bedrooms of Garcia’s apartment.
Residents of St. André are encouraged to reach out to the resident assistant on call at 512-342-4100 or call the University Police Department with emergencies at 512-448-8444.
Hilltop Views will continue to update with additional information as it is discovered. Please check back on hilltopviewsonline.com for additional updates.
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