WESTWOOD, Kan. — A Westwood development that has been the topic of concern for many residents is undergoing a major reconstruction.
"From the second story up, they are rebuilding the structure from the studs out," said Fred Sherman, the city's chief administrative officer.
The $2.4 million project aims to fix the mistakes of Woodside Village's previous contractor, McPherson Contractors.
Woodside Village has 91 apartments and retail spaces on the bottom floor and is labeled as luxury living. Many residents last winter found it to be just the opposite.
"All it's been is a headache ever since I moved in," Steve Carlson told 41 Action News in November 2017.
Carlson ended up moving out. He is among those who had water leakage and mold issues in their apartments.
Carlson stayed in a hotel when he discovered the mold; other residents were given the option to stay in other units or terminate their lease without penalty.
Woodside Village's owner, Tanner & White Properties, found major problems in the way it was built. They hired a new contractor, Neighbor Construction, to re-do everything.
"All windows are being replaced. All repairs are being done to the balconies, they weren't constructed properly. Some door jambs, those kinds of things. All exterior stucco, sheeting, around windows and doors being redone, and places where insulation needs replaced," Sherman said.
Woodside Village management said, "This is a thorough remediation effort. Every single piece of work is being evaluated, and no corners are being cut."
A March 6 water damage reconstruction assessment from the structural engineer, Bob D. Campbell & Co., indicated significant damage. Parts of the building without water damage "didn't comply with the original construction documents" and would "require corrective action."
Many residents still want to know how the project passed inspection in the first place.
The city said some issues "may go into lucrative detail that private inspectors will come and look at that may be beyond city code parameters."
Sherman said, "From a city's building code perspective, we think things like crash doors, fire emergencies, those kind of things, the fact that there is sheeting."
Westwood's building inspector, Eddie McNeil, was very much involved in the inspections, seen in some of the final reports dated weeks before the first tenants moved in August 2016. McNeil noted several things, such as leakage issues, nonfunctional fire sprinklers and loose balcony guardrails.
"The second time around I think everyone is looking at it with a little more critical eye in terms of making sure improvements are done correctly," Sherman said.
One tenant, Dave Trbizan, told 41 Action News he is happy with the way Woodside Village has handled everything and said he didn't think the problems were as big as other tenants said.
The management is not charging Trbizan rent as the remediation continues.
Woodside Village promises residents they are going above and beyond to fix the problems, and said, "Tenants have been relocated to other units as necessary, as each phase of the projects takes effect. In certain cases, we have made necessary arrangements to abate rent with residents."
The reconstruction is slated to be finished by the end of the year, with tenants being able to move back in to certain units in July.
