More than a dozen families have been forced to live for over two years in an Emeryville hotel. Their brand new condos are filled with mold and therefore, are uninhabitable, and there doesn't seem to be a solution.
Craig Winsor and his dog, Einstein, have been in the Woodfin Hotel for two-and-a-half years because they can't live in their brand new condo. Craig Winsor, Condo Owner: "I mean the key issue is the leaks, technically, and the leaks are then causing the mold."
Winsor had to move out of his $380,000 dollar residence at The Terraces at Emery Station less than a year after moving in.
Craig Winsor: "When we left August 8th, 2004, they tore down the walls, and it's been like that ever since."
Juanita Carroll Young, Condo Owner: "Well, there's not much I can do because it feels like it's out of my hands, really, at this point."
Juanita Carroll Young lives next door. She moved out and into the hotel with her husband and daughter.
Juanita Carroll Young: "I'm more worried for my daughter. She's 11. She was actually eight when we moved in there, so she's growing up in a hotel. I don't think it's the healthiest thing for her."
These residents are caught in the middle between their homeowners association, the developer and its insurance companies.
The homeowners association has since sued the developer, Wareham Development, one of the biggest in Emeryville with new projects underway within blocks of The Terraces.
Juanita Carroll Young: "The only thing that I can explain to my friends that ask me is it's lawyers fighting lawyers at this point, because obviously I think that this is not rocket science. I think they could fix this at some point."
Semha Alwaya, Wareham's Lawyer: "Our hands are tied. If it was up to Wareham, this building would have gotten done."
Wareham's lawyer, Semha Alwaya, says they started repairs, but were not allowed to finish after the homeowners association got its own lawyer.
Semha Alwaya: "So Wareham has been left with no control of the situation. It's been left in the hands of the insurance companies and the HOA and its attorney to do the work."
The president of the homeowners association declined to be interviewed on camera because of the lawsuit. But she said, not only do they want the building repaired, they want a contingency fund in case some other problem is discovered in the future.
Craig Winsor: "Us as displaced residents, on a regular basis are scared that when we're going to hear that we can't live in our hotel, you know, we're going to have to start footing the bill."
The homeowners association started repairing one unit and is negotiating a loan to fix the others. Their day in court is scheduled for November.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=5017489&ft=print# # #
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