Off-campus housing complex continues to face legal backlash and angry tenants

This is a continuation of a previous story about Alpine Flats. To find the first article, click here.

The stories from tenants at Alpine Flats may seem like the worst of the worst. However, this complex, owned by California-based company Nelson Partners, is not the only place facing backlash.

According to Whitman County Wat in April 2021, Nelson Partners faced multiple claims in court after the company sought approval to build housing in Pullman, Washington. They said the student housing company failed to pay thousands of dollars to contractors for previous construction work.

Nelson Partners has also been sued for fraud and negligent misrepresentation and was accused of operating “Ponzi-like” schemes on multiple occasions just this year.

One recent case, reported by Business Wire, said after receiving a $36 million loan to develop a luxury student housing complex in Austin, Texas, dozens of investors filed lawsuits against CEO Patrick Nelson, who later said he stopped paying dividends to investors because of pandemic-related struggles.

The New York Times also said investors still have no idea where the money went, but they believe it was used to invest in other student housing projects and for Nelson’s own personal use.

In Mississippi, another property owned by Nelson Brothers, Taylor Bend, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just in August. Across the country, tenants at this 80-unit complex have been dealing with eerily similar experiences as Alpine Flats tenants.

The Oxford Eagle reported even though the property will be in different hands, renters are still uneasy.

“The bankruptcy filing does little to ease concerns among complex residents,” Maya Martin wrote, “whose water and internet services were disconnected by utility providers in July due to lack of payment by the complex owners. Although water service has been restored, residents have told city officials they are dealing with a litany of ongoing management issues, including broken air conditioning units, moldy washing machines, low-quality water and uncut grass.”

After multiple attempts, Nelson Partners failed to respond or make a comment by time of publication.

Another important note is even Alpine Flats has been in and out with management multiple times within the past year due to issues of their own.

Current residents Seth Parry and Emmet Hart both said Chelsie Brown-Candia, the current manager, is the only person running the office because all of the other employees quit after Nelson Partners refused to stop booking more rooms even after it was full.

Lauren Broadhead, a returning renter this year, emphasized management has failed in almost every area and explained they aren’t even around to talk about it. She said she has gone into the office countless times in one day, only to find it empty and the voicemail box full.

“Chelsie has been by far the worst at this out of all the managers,” Broadhead said. “It is very frustrating to be held accountable for rent and other issues when as a resident you can’t even get in contact with a manager to address your problems.”

According to Lauren Morrow, also a returning tenant at Alpine Flats, Candia was two hours late on check-in day, which she said was a regular occurrence.

On the other hand, Candia claimed although she may be gone at certain times for trainings since she’s new, she is usually there during office hours and even stays past hours most days.

“I’m here all the time,” she said. “I’ve actually opened this window so that people can see that there’s somebody in here, not just walking in and walking out.”

Amanda Lowery, a mother of a current renter, contradicted Candia’s statement.

“I personally witnessed on move-in day the maintenance guy with his phone ringing and asked Chelsie what to do and she said ignore it,” she said. “They simply choose not to answer sometimes.”

A tenant over the summer, who prefers to remain anonymous, also said this isn’t a new issue. After moving out in July and still being charged for another month’s rent in August, she was unable to get ahold of anyone at Alpine Flats or corporate at Nelson Partners.

“I emailed both, texted, showed up in person at the office several times for over two weeks and no one responded,” she said. “I once went three different times three days in a row. Ghost town.”

This isn’t a new problem for other past renters either. One previous tenant who lived at Alpine Flats last year said the also experienced challenges with management and when he heard of the students’ anger towards the management, he wasn’t even surprised.

The former renter, who also preferred to remain anonymous, shared his own stories that included having to call the corporate offices in both California and Arizona multiple times after receiving no response after days from anyone in the office.

He also recalled a time when his hot water went out in his apartment and after management failed to even recognize the problem days later, his roommates resorted to using an extra-large burger king cup and boiling water in it just to shower.

Gage Manning is a sophomore tenant who originally had a room reserved at Apple Tree Cove —also owned by Nelson Partners— but was switched at the last minute due to overbooking. He said water and plumbing are a continuous cause of complications.

“I know I’m not the only one with plumbing troubles either. Me and my roommates literally can’t even shower right now,” Manning said.

The anonymous former renter also mentioned he has yet to receive his security deposit, even though his tenancy ended back in May.

Under the Utah Code 57-17-3(2), this act is illegal. The law states security deposits must be refunded within 30 days, unless designated as non-refundable or deducted in writing for that tenant.

Google reviews on Alpine Flats are also relentless against the housing complex. Just within the last two weeks, Ramzie Farr wrote, “If I could give this place ZERO stars I would because we have had SO MANY problems with Alpine Flats. I would rather live in a box than this place.”

A six-month-old review by Alex Olschewski said, “If you are looking for a nice college apartment, keep looking. This place is TRASH.”

On Google reviews, Alpine Flats has an average 2.4-star rating.

Lowery said her and her daughter’s experience with the complex has been very similar.

“This place is horrible,” Lowery said. “The only reason my daughter is there is for her mental health by being surrounded by people she knows or else we would make her move.”

Some upset tenants at the Nelson Partners-owned complex created fliers, slipped them under each door and put them on every car in the parking lot, asking for everyone to stand up to management, voice their complaints and spread their stories. However, rent dates and contract issues aren’t the only problems these renters are trying to solve.

Morrow also said, even last year, there were unacknowledged struggles.

“During finals week, Wi-Fi was out the entire week when everyone was online,” she said. “There were kids who would just gather around one phone and hotspot the entire apartment. It was ridiculous.”

More recently, Mikaela Smith, a new renter at Alpine, said they are already having similar basic living standard complications.

“We have no A/C and everyone is opening their doors and buying fans because it’s so hot and so unlivable here,” Smith said.

Candia said she is doing the best she can to accommodate all the tenants by herself and she is willing to correct things if individuals come to her.

“I don’t want to have a bad taste in their mouth because I’m here and all this stuff is happening,” she said. “It’s just because the people that were here before me never did their job.”

Renters did point out it isn’t just the Alpine Flats management or Candia that they’re blaming. It’s the higher-up administration at Nelson Partners they feel is taking advantage of them.

“It feels like they’re milking people for money,” Hart said.

These complaints come after hundreds of students ended up homeless after the student housing complex, 800 Block — also owned by Nelson Partners — told tenants construction would be finished by fall semester and fell through on the promise, even after contracts had been signed.

From the countless horror stories from both past and present renters, they each stated Alpine Flats and any place owned by Nelson Partners is the last place that they would ever recommend to anyone looking for housing.

Jacee.Caldwell@usu.edu