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Issues at Callis Towers are tied to renovations
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
By late Wednesday afternoon, it had already been a hectic and stressful 24 hours for Cecelia Smith, who had to collect her 80-year-old mother Tuesday night from an apartment lacking running water and phone service.
''When I came to pick my mother up, about five or six other residents met me in the hallway and wanted to use my cell phone to call their relatives. That made absolutely no sense,'' said Smith, who moved her mother from the Callis Towers on Thornton Avenue in Akron into her own home.
Smith minced no words in voicing concern for her mother and her mother's elderly neighbors in the apartment complex owned and operated by Alpha Phi Alpha Homes Inc. She said the loss of phone and water service placed the apartment building's elderly and handicapped tenants, many with serious health problems, in jeopardy.
''My mother has the Life Alert system in case she falls or something,'' Smith said. The in-home medical monitor alerts the system's operator if the client has an emergency.
However, Smith said the
safety system relies on a working phone line.
''If she had fallen or something, there would have been no way for someone to send help,'' Smith said.
The problems experienced by tenants at the 277-unit Callis Towers are related to a $12 million project to renovate the apartment complex, the management said.
''We are in the midst of a major renovation project. . . . It hasn't been without a few headaches,'' said Tom Fuller, executive director of Alpha Homes, which has developed and operates more than 1,800 units in Akron, Cleveland and Chicago. In Akron, it built Channelwood Village, Callis Towers, Williams Tower, Wesley Tower, The Landings at Canal Park and the Townhomes at Canal Park.
Fuller said that while making upgrades to the main waterline on Tuesday, a work crew accidentally hit a telephone cable, knocking out phone service.
''It was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back,'' Fuller said.
He said tenants have had to endure some inconveniences since renovations began in November.
''We notified the residents that the water would be shut down for about six hours, but the phone line was unexpected. . . . AT&T is working on it and it should be back on in a few hours,'' Fuller said late Wednesday afternoon.
For the last several months, the apartment complex has been a beehive of activity, with several construction crews working in various sections of the building, in the parking lot and on the grounds.
''We have basically gutted the building,'' said Michael Williams, Alpha Homes deputy executive director and Akron councilman at large.
Updates needed
He said Callis Towers — which was the first Alpha Homes' project — is more than 35 years old and needed to be updated.
''We are replacing everything,'' Williams said. In addition to a new parking lot, new entrance doors and lobby area, security upgrades, and a new community room, each apartment is being outfitted with new kitchens, bathrooms, windows, balconies, appliances, closets and carpeting.
''We've put in a new heating system and added central air conditioning,'' Williams said. The work is being done by Testa Construction.
During the renovation, which is about three-quarters complete and is slated to be finished by April, several tenants chose to relocate to other Alpha Homes properties. But most tenants, including Smith's mother, decided to stay.
Smith said a constant sore point with residents during construction has been the elevator system.
''Only one of the two elevators is working. Tenants and workers have to use just that one elevator,'' Smith said.
Renovated apartments
''It's been a bit of a double-edge sword,'' Williams said. ''I'm sure some of the tenants are a little weary at this point. But once they move into their new apartments, I'm sure they will think it was worth it,''
That view will be tested today, when Smith moves her mother into a renovated apartment on the eighth floor.
''We are supposed to move her in tomorrow,'' Smith said Wednesday night. ''I just hope everything goes smoothly.''
Carl Chancellor can be reached at 330-996-3725 or cchancellor@thebeaconjournal.com.
By late Wednesday afternoon, it had already been a hectic and stressful 24 hours for Cecelia Smith, who had to collect her 80-year-old mother Tuesday night from an apartment lacking running water and phone service.
Get the full article here.
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