NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — After a day of safety inspections, Newport News Codes Compliance said it doesn’t appear enough repairs will be made to the SeaView Lofts apartment building for residents to return by Monday.
City officials confirmed that both of the building's elevators failed inspection on Friday, and there are other outstanding issues with the building's boiler and fire alarm systems.
“There has been a repair to one of the boilers, but there are other issues involving one of the other boilers and other mechanical equipment still outstanding. The elevators tie into the building’s alarm system, so when a fire alarm goes off, the elevator is supposed to perform in a certain way," Harold Roach said, the director of Newport News' Code Compliance Department.
According to Roach, code officers said an ongoing problem is that they continue to find new code issues with the building that they weren't aware of before the residents were told to vacate by July 1.
"We’ve found another leak from a piece of equipment in the building," Roach said. "So, there are several things that need to be rectified before folks will be allowed, and it’s clear they’re not getting in today or Monday."
City attorneys for Newport News brought the owner of the SeaView Lofts apartment building to court over seven areas of the building not up to code, which Roach confirmed Friday would all need to be rectified before the building could be "re-occupied."
Here is the status of those seven categories of issues:
- Boiler #1 (Exhaust): Passed inspection
- Boiler #2 (Hot Water): Still outstanding
- Stairwell lighting: Passed inspection
- Fire alarm system: Failed inspection
- Elevators: Failed inspection (both)
- Secured Mechanical room: Fixed
- Electrical panel boxes: Fixed
Roach also noted inspectors found defective smoke detectors on site Friday.
The inspections come after a status hearing Tuesday morning confirmed there are still code issues with the apartment's elevators and fire alarm system. As long as that's the case, the building remains condemned.
The next hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 1.