Good afternoon, Ovation Nation. It was great to see you or your family members at the first resident town hall. I know it was an emotional time for most of us as you experienced the visuals of the damage and seeing one another. We look forward to continuing this meeting on a monthly basis with both Albert Castaneda and I leading the presentation.
The next one will be held in Ovation West. You will receive an invite in the coming weeks. As discussed in the town hall, this update is a summation of the question-and-answer portion of the meeting.
Questions that were not able to be addressed are being tracked for follow-up communications as soon as we have definitive answers.
Town Hall Questions from 5/11/2022
Q: If the IL building had a fire in it and is unsafe, why would we open AL? Would it be unsafe as well since the same company built it?
A: The cause of origin for IL has not been determined and/or disclosed at this time. The AL building has been inspected multiple times and has passed all inspections, by all accounts it is as safe as it can be. It also has some systems that are not the same as it is a smaller building.
Q: What percentage of the IL Building was damaged?
A: The building is considered in thirds. About a third of it has heavy damage from fire and water. Another third has smoke and water damage. So about 60% sustained damage.
Q: Did the roof collapse affect the entire building?
A: No, it did not. The building from a builder standpoint is considered to be sectioned into compartments. The roof only partially collapsed on the heavily fire damaged side in one compartment of it.
Q: What caused the explosion that the news reported?
A: The “explosion” was a pressure explosion from the heat and smoke. It was on the south side facing Applied Underwriter’s Parkway. That is where the worst of the damage is.
Q: Did the fire suppression system fail? Did the firewall fail?
A: The fire suppression system did not fail. The sprinkler systems activated in the section of the building where the fire was. The alarm system activated and alerted our fire monitoring company, who in turn also alerted the Fire Department. The fire doors closed as well. The fire was above the sprinkler system due to being on the roof. The fire walls did not fail, they remained intact.
Q: Are there multiple entrances to the community and site?
A: Yes, there is an entrance on the north side of the community directly off Applied Parkway. There is another entrance on the south side on Blossom Ave.
Q: Can a resident that lives in the North part of IL move into the IL building?
A: At this time that is not determined. We will explore this option but are not convinced that this is a good option as most amenities were in the south side of the building.
Q: Could the opening of IL be tied up in litigation and delay residents even more from moving in?
A: No, the insurance company will not hold us hostage. They may go after whoever they need to, but it will not prevent the moving forward process for Ovation from occurring.
Q: What are the potential options of what to do with the IL south side? Will the entire building need to be demolished? Only a partial demo of just the affected area?
A: Currently, we do not know. We expect to have greater answers at the next town hall. The forensic engineers and structural engineers will let us, and insurance know what we need to do next.
Q: How long did it take to build the IL building from ground break to the fire?
A: We started construction in Fall of 2019 and the fire occurred in the spring of 2022.
Q: Will we honor the room prices that people were promised when they deposited?
A: Yes, all depositors will have their rent prices honored from their original agreement. If someone were to request a refund and come back later, I would expect a price difference then, but for those we have built relationships with and have been working with as our depositors we are honoring what was promised.
Q: Do depositors get interest back from their deposit since it has been with Ovation in their account for multiple years, if they request it back?
A: No since it is refundable, but we will verify with our corporate office.
What is the IL Building opening timeline?
At this time we cannot say. Until we have more answers from the investigation team, insurance, etc. we cannot say what the timeline would be.
Q: Were the vehicles for the community damaged?
A: No, they were parked on the west side of the AL building and were safe.
Q: What would impact the potential June 15th opening of AL?
A: At this time the stability of the IL building south corner and it’s removal. The collapse zone needs to be 90ft away and the AL building is 75ft away. They are in the process of removing the 4th floor corner that impacts this.
All our internet networks need to be up and stable. Three of the Four are up. Our network partner and corporate IT are working for this.
Q: If we discover the cause of the IL fire and a similar part/practice/etc. is in place in the AL building, what will we do? Would it make AL unsafe?
A: AL was inspected and passed all inspections. It has been deemed safe by all inspectors and is as safe as anyone can make it.
Q: What does it mean for AL when IL becomes an active construction site?
A: We will look at all options like having restricted work times for the construction team, they will only be able to work between certain hours. We will also have open communication with our residents and give them advanced notice as much as possible for when things that may affect their day-to-day flow could occur.
Q: Will the same construction company be used to rebuild the IL building?
A: At this time that is not determined. It would be the faster route. We need to know next steps of what we can do first before any decisions are made.
Q: Did we retain all our staff? Was anyone let go?
A: At this time, we have retained all our staff. We do not see any immediate needs for furlough. Some were offered other positions within our community to help save jobs.
Q: How and can depositors get their deposit back?
A: Please reach out to the community relations team and they can discuss with you.
Q: Is there smoke damage in the north side of IL?
A: Thankfully the winds were blowing the smoke up and away from the building. While they helped to spur the fire on, they aided in pulling the smoke away. There definitely is smoke damage on the top floors but as you go down, it lessens.
This will be a continued journey of numerous questions with answers not coming as fast as we like but know that we are here to support you through this process. We are excited to be back at work and to start preparing Ovation West for our first residents as we look to rebuild Ovation East into the beautiful building it was.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, should you need anything.
Kind regards,
Stephanie Grade
General Manager
Stephanie.Grade@ovationbyavamere.com
p 402.999.7900
m 402.800.4643