NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Exactly two months ago to the date, residents of the SeaView Lofts apartment complex in Newport News were forced out and had to find new living arrangements within a 48-hour window due to safety violations.
New code documents shared by Newport News city leaders reveal crews made some progress, but there are still three areas inside in need of repairs.
The documents show the building’s emergency lighting system passed inspection last Thursday, meaning one less item for crews to address.
The building's fire alarm panel system also recently passed inspection in August.
But those same code documents showed other areas of the building are still in need of fixing. On August 23, the building's chiller, a machine that cools the building which code officers previously found leaks, failed an inspection.
New inspections have not yet been scheduled for the building’s boiler or the elevators, meaning there are still three areas of outstanding issues that need fixing before a judge can remove the condemnation.
This latest report was needed and requested by a judge by August 30.
On August 31, the judge determined that a new court date would not be set until an additional report on the status of the building was received.
There have been seven court hearings over the last two months regarding the building's status.
Kaitlin Baxter, one of the attorneys representing SeaView owner Ben Weinstein, shared the following statement with 13News Now:
Seaview continues to make progress on repairs, including crossing another item off the list of health and safety issues with the successful inspection of the electrical egress lighting system. Seaview will continue to work diligently with the City and the contractors to complete the repairs needed to lift the condemnation.