“We pay so much money.” GSU student says new off-campus apartment building is a nightmare – WSB-TV Channel 2

ATLANTA — When Georgia State University student Jasmyn Mallory learned there was a waiting list to get into a GSU dorm, she had to find another option.

Like many other students, she chose Reflection student housing, which is an off-campus apartment building close to the school.

Mallory spoke to Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes Wednesday the Channel 2 Action News at 5 p.m.

“I found Reflection was a brand new building, and you know, brand new appliances, brand new unit, that was something I was really interested in,” Mallory said.

But that excitement turned to disappointment within days of moving in.

“That first week, five cars were broken into,” Mallory said.

She told Fernandes that the building’s Wi-Fi hadn’t worked for weeks and the devices still didn’t work.

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Mallory said there was no security and showed Fernandes a photo of a homeless man who went up to the 23rd floor and slept there one night.

“Security, it took them a while to get him out, and it was just dangerous and about how he even got there in the first place, because he had to breach so much security to get to 23rd floor,” Mallory said.

She told Fernandes that the showerheads made noise and rattled – when they worked.

The building’s website promises parents the safety and experience of a new building.

“It’s really sad to see that they don’t hold their end. We pay so much money here,” Mallory said.

Fernandes spoke with the owners on Tuesday, who promised to get her answers about what was going on with the building.

They sent him a long statement saying:

“Students are our top priority and as specialist managers for student properties, we strive to provide an exceptional level of service to our residents. We prioritize the student experience while maintaining an off-campus residential building that offers private condominium-style luxuries.

“Any concerns raised by students and/or parents are received and addressed as quickly as possible. We currently have no outstanding issues in the building regarding services or amenities. The building is brand new and was delivered during one of the toughest supply chain markets in recent history. No student or parent has applied to be released from their tenancy agreement and we continue to welcome all students to be part of our thriving community.

“Below is our response to the areas of concern.

WASHING MACHINE

Of the 24/7 washing machines located throughout the 25-story building, 10 washers had problems connecting with the drain line. We performed a building-wide assessment to check all washers and rectified the issue. On the day of the incident around August 2, 2022, our restoration team immediately removed the water from the unit and all washers were repaired. The students were not moved and there have been no problems since.

SHOWER HEAD

Of the 741 residents, 2 residents submitted a work order regarding a problem with a shower head. Shower heads were replaced the same day we received the work order. There were no other incidents or work order submissions regarding showerheads. This was approximately reported during the first week of August and resolved immediately.

CHEST OF DRAWERS

All bedrooms have a two drawer dresser.

Wireless

Due to ongoing and unfortunate supply chain issues, Reflection management has been advised that there is a delay in installing the building’s permanent Wi-Fi circuit activation. To work around this issue, a temporary Wi-Fi circuit was installed in the building prior to the anticipated move-in – July 27, 2022.

The permanent Wi-Fi circuit was installed and activated on August 14 (a week before the start of the school year) and had no problems. Reflection stands out in the private student housing market as it is a high-tech building offering an unprecedented 10G network which is the fastest network of any other private student housing in Atlanta.

COMMUNITY PEACE OF MIND

Unfortunately, encounters with the homeless population have been an ongoing issue for all private student properties in the area and all properties have had incidents and concerns with the homeless population in and around the GSU campus. This is a community-wide issue, and we continue to be vigilant and work with the APD and MHD as needed.

This event comes from a resident who damaged the parking gate, creating a breach in the access circuit. The person was evacuated from the building without incident. In response, a security guard was placed in the garage on duty 24/7 until the door was fixed.

OFF-SITE PARKING

Unfortunately, on move-in day, a small number of cars were broken into in the neighboring third-party car park. As with all public car parks/garages, parking is at the customer’s own risk. Thought management is in ongoing discussions with the owner of the parking garage to provide a more secure facility. No other car break-ins took place.

“Unfortunately even the garage mirrors have been impacted by the supply chain and will be fitted immediately upon receipt.”

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