Solomon Towers’ residents deal with construction and cold temperatures

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Residents at Solomon Towers in downtown Wilmington say the cold temperatures and construction at the Towers began around the same time and it’s keeping them in the cold.

In an attempt to “go green” the Wilmington Housing Authority is fixing up the housing unit, but some residents say they are paying a price for it.

For some Solomon Towers residents the cold temperatures and recent renovations are not a good mix.

“They have taken the windows out and of course they put up petitions in the hallway so you can’t walk by them and fall out but it has snowed in there and freezing rain in there and the hallways are extremely cold,” said one resident.

The WHA began renovating the hallway windows of Solomon Towers earlier this month. Some residents say construction is allowing a cold draft and even snow into the hallways. WHA CEO Michael Krause says residents are being accommodated during the renovation process.

“During the time of a window replacement we are relocating residents to a hotel during the time for the windows to be replaced,” said Krause.

The windows removed from floors two through eleven have been replaced by a piece of wood, but residents say there’s cracks that allow snow, rain and cold temperatures to slip through and it’s not a suitable environment to live in.

“It’s very disheartening to me to see that they didn’t take out one and then put it in in the same day and then go to the next one but to take all of them out and just leave them for several weeks is kinda cruel,” said the resident.

The residents we spoke with Friday say they’ve tried to contact the WHA to try to get an air-tight cover for the open spaces but have been unsuccessful.

“I was at a meeting of residents at Solomon Towers just as recently as yesterday and haven’t received any complaints regarding the progress of the construction,” said Krause. “In fact, everyone seemed quite pleased with the progress that’s been made.”

Residents say they have to wear a jacket and gloves when they walk the hallways because it is so cold.