By Evan Doan, News Editor
Construction has been underway at St. Martin de Porres Hall since the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 19. The school cited health concerns as the reason for repairs. An entire apartment unit needed to be renovated and cleaned. The completion date is still unknown.
Residential dumpster outside of St. Martin de Porres Hall – Photo by Evan Doan
On Tuesday, Nov. 18 multiple residents of apartment dorms were informed that they would need to move their cars from Dominican Lot before the morning. The next day a dumpster had taken the spot of their cars.
Later that day students saw cleaners in protective suits entering and exiting the west stairwell and a tarp blocking that part of the hallway. Students received an email from their RAs stating that. “On Monday evening/Tuesday Morning, an incident occurred in a room where water burst all over the apartment. There was some mold, so they’re throwing out the contaminated furniture and carpet, which is why there’s a dumpster. And they’re fixing and cleaning everything that got damaged.” said the email.
The first floor hallway of St. Martin de Porres Hall – Photo by Evan Doan
The incident occurred in a vacant first floor apartment. A water leak occurred for multiple in the apartment which led to a mold infestation. It has not been released how the leak started or how long the leak went unnoticed.
“It’s bad, like really bad,” said one of the cleaners to a resident when asked about the destruction of the unit. The removal and decontamination process is still underway over two weeks later.
Large appliances such as the fridge, oven and dishwasher were removed from the apartment with large portions of carpeting also being removed. An unpleasant odor has also filled the hallway. The timeline for repairs is still unknown.
“I wish they [Reslife and Aquinas administrators] would tell us what is going on,” said a resident who asked to not be named. “They haven’t told us what caused this or how long the dumpster will be good parking spots in a lot that we paid to park in.”
As of now, Reslife has not responded to questions. They have also not reached out to residents of St. Martin de Porres Hall directly. The disposal of infested material is being handled by CDR Disposal Service Inc. It is unclear who will be handling the construction or when construction will begin or who will be decontaminating the unit, hallway and stairwell.
The sign in the first floor hallway of St. Martin de Porres Hall – Photo by Evan Doan
The Saint 