WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Four months after historic flooding damaged their building, residents at Element 84 Apartments in West Allis are still living without working elevators in their multi-story complex.
Neil Vallely said he has essentially moved out of his fourth-floor apartment because of the ongoing inconvenience.
"I've basically vacated my apartment due to the fact that it's more than an inconvenience," Vallely said. "I have limited capability to have my parents over, my girlfriend over, because I'm on the fourth floor."
We first met Vallely in August. His car was one of the hundreds totaled by the flooding.
He said the elevators have been out of service since the August 9 flooding that sent water rushing through West Allis streets. Videos from that night showed water filling the building's garage.
Watch: West Allis tenants left with no working elevators since August flooding
"It's been pretty much a nightmare," Vallely said. "I got home by like 11:30, and I would say by 1:45 that whole garage must've been filled."
While tenants' power was restored by September, all four elevators in the building remain non-operational.
Jonathan Ross, the managing member of Element 84, said all four elevators required full replacements due to flood damage.
"This is our only option," Ross said. "We are at the mercy of the manufacturing and delivering of our parts."
The building paid elevator manufacturer Schindler more than $100,000 in September for brand new elevators, with an original completion date of November, according to Ross. When that didn't happen, Ross said he stepped in.
"I called up the general manager of Schindler in town, and he jumped right on it and tried to find ways to help the situation out," Ross said.
As of Tuesday, one building has one working elevator, and another elevator should be operational by next week.
Schindler declined an interview request with TMJ4 Thursday.
They sent us a statement, but failed to answer the question of why it has taken four months to get the elevators working.
Here's Schindler's full statement:
"As a leading provider in the vertical transportation sector, we are committed to the safety, reliability, and accessibility of the equipment we service. We understand the importance of these units to the residents of Element 84 and are treating this restoration with the utmost priority.
The severe flooding at these buildings resulted in the elevators being fully submerged, causing catastrophic damage to the infrastructure. Consequently, this project necessitated a full-scale reconstruction of the systems rather than standard repairs. Our local team has been working collaboratively alongside building management and suppliers from the moment the water damage occurred to overcome significant logistical challenges and expedite this work.
We are pleased to confirm that one unit was returned to service yesterday. Our teams are currently on-site working to restore a second unit in the adjacent building as early as tomorrow, ensuring that residents in both buildings have access to vertical transportation. In coordination with our customer, we plan to restore the last two units to service as quickly and safely as possible.”
Building management suspended rent for August, put some tenants up in hotels, and has continued updating residents via email. However, residents say they shouldn't have to pay full rent without working elevators.
"Four months is a long time," Vallely said. "I was just looking for a small stipend of some kind, and I was denied."
Ross said management is reconsidering additional concessions for residents.
"We have made a decision that most likely we are going to provide some additional concessions in addition to the probably $500,000 in concessions we have already given our residents," Ross said.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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