GREENSBORO, N.C. — Editor's Note: Video is from Saturday as students tried to move into the apartments.
Varsity Campus released a statement Sunday following dirty apartments discovered by students and parents getting ready for move-in day.
Block 43 Apartments is a private apartment complex located on Clifton Road where some students at North Carolina A&T University, UNC Greensboro, and other local campuses live.
Varsity Campus cited staffing shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the challenges for them to get the apartments ready in time for students.
Multiple students and parents told WFMY News 2 they were told to arrive at Block 43 at 9 a.m. Saturday to pick up their unit keys, only to wait for several hours in lines outside in the heat where temperatures reached the mid-90s.
One parent said she and her student found trash, dirt, hair, mold, and dust when they walked into the unit for the first time and shared photos of the mess.
A spokesperson with N.C. A&T confirmed with WFMY News 2 Saturday, that units were not prepared for students' arrival and that the head of housing and residence life was at Block 43 helping students affected by the situation.
“N.C. A&T is aware of apartments at Block 43 assigned to some of our students that were not move-in ready Saturday, as they should have been. A&T officials are working with the complex’s management company to ensure the issues are resolved immediately," associate vice chancellor for University Relations Todd Simmons said. "We will offer temporary accommodations for tonight for students whose apartments have not been properly prepared and family members who accompanied them."
N.C. A&T spokesperson said this is the largest class the university has ever seen.
The University also said, "NCA&T has a master lease agreement with Block 43 but is not responsible for the maintenance or upkeep of the units – that is the property management company’s responsibility."
A university spokesperson confirmed with WFMY Sunday, 36 NC A&T students had been provided accommodations after their apartments were not ready for move-in this weekend.
RELATED: Dirty units at Block 43 Apartments anger Greensboro college students, parents on move-in day
A spokesperson with UNC Greensboro told WFMY they're also assessing the situation. The University has helped three of its students who were set to move into Block 43. Those students have now switched over to campus housing at UNCG at this time.
Varsity Campus released the following statement:
“NC A&T Housing entrusted Varsity Campus to house some of their students at Block 43. We deeply apologize to the University, the students and their parents for the condition of some of these units as they arrived to move-in on August 14, 2021. Our on-site team and vendors have continued to work into the late hours to remediate these issues and provide a clean living environment for our residents.
While preparing so many units for move-in over a two-week period is never easy, staffing shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic presented an even bigger challenge than we had anticipated. Our priority is to make sure all units are clean and all amenities are in working order. We have called in additional vendors from Charlotte and Winston-Salem to finish cleaning any remaining units. VC staff will also go building by building to double check all units and make sure all residents are satisfied with the condition of their unit as they start their fall semester.
We appreciate the University's assistance in helping displaced students while Varsity Campus completes a thorough cleaning. The circumstances at Block 43 do not reflect our company’s standards. We have committed to an internal review and will strengthen confidence in our management and resident services at this community.
Our mission is to manage our communities with precision, treat our clients as partners, and care for our residents family. While we are disappointed that we did not meet expectations, we will make this right and going forward our actions will demonstrate our commitment to our mission.”