Unfinished 800 Block sends students scrambling for housing — again

800 Block, an off-campus housing site in Logan owned by Nelson Partners, has failed yet again to keep their promise that they would have apartments finished for the school year and uphold their contracts to hundreds of students.

After over a year of being under construction, 800 Block sent out an email on July 28 informing would-be tenants “the original move-in date of Aug. 27 has been postponed due to numerous supply chain issues and labor shortage.”

The housing complex had promised spacious three, four and five-bedroom floor plans with amenities like a fire pit, a jacuzzi, a game room and a resident parking garage.

What has upset would-be tenants more than the unfinished amenities though, is the money they lost and are now fighting to get back after already signing contracts and paying deposits.

And the reviews on the 800 Block Facebook page are relentless.

USU alumna Lindsay Jones wrote, “Clown company! Avoid these scumbags at all costs! Terrible money sucking people who could care less about students!”

USU IT technician and alumnus, Nathan Strain, wrote, “Nelson Partners should be avoided like the plague. Nobody should sign a lease. Even if they do manage to finish the building this time, living there will be the worst experience of your life.”

According to an article by the Salt Lake Tribune, 800 Block did try to solve the problem by attempting to get a temporary occupancy permit through the city, but they were denied.

In the article, Logan’s city chief building officer said the city just couldn’t feel good about granting the permit, especially with how far the building is from being complete.

When Utah State University got word of the canceled leases, they began reaching out to students to help as they could, despite not being affiliated with any off-campus entities.

USU Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications, Amanda DeRito, explained, “USU officials are doing everything they can to help connect students with available housing, including finding ways to provide additional spaces in on-campus housing (and) frequently updating a list of available off-campus housing sites.”

DeRito said the university sympathizes with those students and encourages them to reach out to their advisors to discuss other course options, if needed.

However, this isn’t the first time 800 Block has flaked on their commitments.

In August of last year, students were left scrambling after the complex sent an email to would-be tenants, blaming their delay in finishing on the Coronavirus and an extreme shortage of building supplies.

A previous Statesman article explained how this delay caused some students to have no other choice but to transfer schools.

One USU student, Sophie Baker-Bunch, was a former Nelson Partners tenant at Almond Tree, an off-campus apartment complex near Utah Tech University, previously known as Dixie State University. She said her experience with Nelson Partners, even with the building being finished, was a horrible one.

Baker-Bunch explained the management was difficult to get a hold of, the rooms were disgusting and multiple things would break and go months without getting fixed.

“They give empty promises to all their tenants everywhere,” she said. “It makes me sad so many students are disadvantaged by not being able to have a home when school starts.”

Baker-Bunch’s story seems to line up with similar experiences shared in a previous Statesman article from USU students and tenants at Alpine Flats, another off-campus housing complex in Logan owned by Nelson Partners.

Many students never got their deposits back and were asked to sign multiple new contracts. Some went weeks without working WiFi or hot water, and some even faced eviction threats.

Baker-Bunch also mentioned how her past manager at Almond Tree confessed she left the company because Nelson Partners “wasn’t honest with their dealings and owed thousands of dollars to repairmen and landscaping but wouldn’t pay.”

Utah isn’t the only state to have such experiences with Nelson Partners. But after failing to pay investors for a luxury high rise building in Texas, things are about to change.

According to Cision PR Newswire, Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP, a law firm that protects investors, took Nelson Partners to court this summer, that resulted in a liquidation plan that will require the company to pay $50 million to investors within 18 months.

The article stated Nelson Partners will likely have to sell the majority of their properties across the U.S. to come up with the money — and will still probably only come up with half of it.

Regardless, in 800 Block’s email to would-be tenants, they claim they are still dedicated to the project and plan to finish it, despite their “numerous challenges.”

But after the second consecutive year of empty promises, not many are hopeful — including Baker-Bunch, who had advice for anyone looking for housing.

She said, “I warn everyone to stay far, far away from Nelson Partners.”

Jacee.Caldwell@usu.edu

Featured photo by Joseph F Myers