WAUKESHA-Regardless of the reason or explanation for the emergency evacuation of the half-century West Street apartment complex, one fact stands out: dozens of residents are left homeless indefinitely.

According to early estimates, as many as 80 people may be forced to seek asylum after the Wakosha authorities took action on Thursday to protect residents from defects in the Horizon West apartment—an unspecified period of time.

According to Wakosha City officials, a sudden evacuation quickly arrived on Thursday after an independent structural engineering report determined that the building was “facing an imminent threat of collapse” due to damage to the structural columns. According to information provided by Mayor Shawn Reilly, officials had previously documented other structural problems with the complex.

“We understand the impact of this on the families affected by this decision, but public safety is of the utmost importance,” City Administrator Kevin Lana explained in a press release, Wakosha Fire Chief Steve Howard’s decision to implement the decision. Evacuate on Thursday night.

Finding short-term housing for those who have been displaced is a current concern of the American Red Cross, which had previously arranged two nights at the Baymont Hotel in Waukesha.

At a press conference on Friday, despite recent inspections and other factors that exposed the building’s problems since 2020, city officials tried to answer many questions about how and why the apartment reached a critical state.

A press release issued on Friday afternoon disclosed most of the timetable for these issues. But city officials said these problems were first exposed in a storm in June 2019, which caused significant damage to trees and property around Carroll University and scraped off external debris from the apartment.

Officials said that the storm itself does not necessarily damage the building, but the problem of being buried underneath becomes obvious.

In June 2020, the city learned of complaints about the condition of multiple balconies in Horizon West, which led to the city government ordering a resolution of the problem and requesting the owner to conduct an engineering analysis.

Although the Condominium Association worked hard to hire contractors to resolve these issues in 2020 and 2021, additional inspections by the fire department prompted an order in September to compel the installation of fences in condominiums, “due to deteriorating balcony conditions and falling debris,” the city stated in its press release. Said in.

A month later, the staff began to demolish the balcony. This in turn exposed the defects of the structural frame and columns.

At that time, a third-party independent structural engineer hired by the city conducted the inspection and finally came up with a more serious tone than the previous inspection. The city stated that the preliminary report on November 30 "revealed the defects of the building's load-bearing structure." Other data on December 2 finally determined that the building is now unsafe.

At a press conference on Friday, Fire Chief Steve Howard stated that the removal of the balcony affected the structural columns, one of which was particularly unstable. At least, he admits that this is how he understood the summary of an engineer who explained the situation to him.

Howard said that rust and corrosion that are common enough to cause defects seem to be the source of the problem.

He said that the "temporary support" of structural members reduced the risk of collapse, but it is not clear when or if the problem can be completely resolved. He added that in any case, it is still not suitable for residents to live in.

Howard said: "This building cannot be safely entered."

Most structural inspections of residential buildings are carried out during the construction of the building. The State’s Department of Safety and Professional Services can review and approve construction plans and inspect construction sites, but it does not need to conduct annual inspections or issue guidelines for these inspections after the building has been completed. The structural inspections of residential buildings after completion are mainly completed by the local municipalities, and each municipality has its own requirements. Private apartment associations can also hire engineers to inspect buildings.

"As far as I know, no structural inspection is required," Howard said.

At the same time, dozens of residents were left homeless overnight indefinitely.

Justin Kern, chief communications officer for the Red Cross Wisconsin region, said the first step is to determine how many people are in urgent need of housing. The "preliminary estimate" is that 80 people were affected by the evacuation of the apartment complex and two adjacent houses.

"We have someone contacted us to ask about available apartments, so if they can't come back here, it might be an option," Kern said.

On Saturday, the Red Cross opened a shelter for displaced residents in Elmbrook Chruch, 777 South Buck Road. According to the press release, the shelter is providing meals, health and mental health resources and "safe and comfortable spaces."

Kern said the Red Cross is also in dialogue with displaced residents on the next steps in their recovery. Kern said he is not sure how many residents need to stay in the shelter — many have found alternative accommodation — but it will continue to be open to everyone affected by the evacuation. 

With the help of the Treasurer of the Apartment Association, Kern said that he hopes he has all the contact information he needs to meet or talk with all the displaced residents.

Otherwise, Kern is as curious and worried as his neighbors and residents: what will happen to this building? "Once we hear news about this matter, it will become part of our dialogue with residents," he said. "That's the shocking part of this incident. For people who can't get back to where they lived, it's too sudden."

For Tim Noster, 63, who has been living in different occasions in the apartment for three years, the evacuation prevented him from comfortably addressing his medical deficiencies, including foot neuropathy, partial amputation and Immunodeficiency that requires medication.

However, he said he was confident enough not to despair, and was warm with the help he received from the local FedEx office, where his brother roommate John Tanksley worked.

"The people are amazing," Nord said, unpacking a McDonald's cheeseburger and donating it to residents of Baymont Inn on Friday. "Like every five minutes, someone brings other things."

Food comes from the American Red Cross and is shared in the lobby area of ​​the hotel. In his room, Nost showed off the piles of clothes and toiletries he and Tanksley had collected on the bed.

"You can look at it this way," he said. "Yes, we have a condemned building, we are in a bad position, but on the other hand, help is on the way. It is. This is faith. I haven't seen it yet, but it will come."

Nevertheless, he admitted that the future is still uncertain. "We don't know where we are going," Nost said.

This incident became the second time this year. Although it was more serious, the city had to intervene in an emergency evacuation due to structural problems.

In June, fire officials evacuated customers and employees of Marco's Pizza and Dollar General. When the staff returned after receiving an unrelated call, they noticed that the roof at the front of the building was drooping. Since the owner’s maintenance work has been completed, these companies cannot reopen for a few weeks.

Caitlin Ferrard contributed to this report.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @jariccioli.