La Crosse apartment building residents speak out after months without air conditioning

Reporter/Anchor

LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Residents of an apartment building in downtown La Crosse say they have been without air conditioning for the last two months.

The group that owns the Grand River Station apartments say the system has been installed, and the units are cooling down now.

But tenants say all these weeks without air came with consequences.

As the heat beats down on La Crosse city streets, the temperature inside the apartment building rose.

"The heat gets trapped in the building," said Julia McDermid, who lives in the building.

"My apartment was, I think it was 93 at one point. And then it got up to like 97, almost 100," said Odessa Whitehead, who also lives in the building.

Neighbor Julia McDermid says the air conditioning in their building has been out for two months now.

"Each consecutive day of really high heat, it's getting hotter and hotter in the building," McDermid said.

The city of La Crosse says there are 72 units on record.

This leaves those 72 with sweltering heat.

Management put a portable unit in the community room.

"But, you know, people can't sleep up there," McDermid said.

McDermid also said management suggested tenants get portable units.

She got one, but it cost her.

"I have spent, now, over $500 between portable and window units and fans," McDermid said.

McDermid says for some of her neighbors—paying that price isn't possible.

"This building, I believe, serves the lowest income bracket. So, people who may be 30% or below the median area income. And those folks can't afford to go out and buy a portable air conditioner unit," McDermid said.

Whitehead said the heat has become unbearable.

"I thought I was going to die," Whitehead said. "I had to go to the emergency room, ER, and I had to get some IV because I was dehydrated. I woke up, I was delusional, I was really sick."

After her health scare, she has temporarily moved to a hotel.

"We had to get out," Whitehead said.

But for many other tenants, sweating it out has been life-threatening. She said her former boss had to deal with something similar.

"She had to get her mother out, she's 85. She actually went in the hospital, and she almost died," Whitehead said.

Seven weeks later, tenants say an end is in sight.

They say the air conditioning could be fixed by Thursday.

But Whitehead says—that wasn't soon enough.

"It should not have took seven weeks. Seven weeks to get this done, that's just unacceptable," Whitehead said.

Gorman and Company, who owns the Grand River Station apartments, told News 8 Now in an email that supply chain issues delayed the delivery of the parts needed to fix the issue.

Gormon said the issue was identified in March, but the delay in delivery played a role in how long it took to cool down the unit.

Representatives also said they will not compensate people who bought window units.

Reporter/Anchor

Emily Haugen graduated from the University of St. Thomas in May 2021 with a degree in communication and journalism with minors in English and political science. She was raised in Fairmont, Minnesota, a small town located along I-90 with her three siblings and cat named Batman. She loves the Midwest and all its seasons, so she's excited to experience them in La Crosse. During her time at St. Thomas, Emily worked at the student-run news organization TommieMedia, where she anchored, reported and eventually directed the organization. She also interned at the Under-Told Stories Project for PBS NewsHour where she learned about solutions-based journalism and created a podcast episode about the Rondo Land Bridge in St. Paul. Emily has always loved storytelling, creating everything from newspapers to plays as a kid. For fun, Emily loves to paint, play guitar and go for runs. She ran Grandma's Marathon in 2019 and the Twin Cities Marathon this fall!

June 9, 2023 @ 5:16 am