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A/C woes shuts down nonprofit at MacArthur Center

The 757 Creative ReUse Center quickly closed at the beginning of July after the air conditioning unit broke and it hasn't reopened since.

NORFOLK, Va. — The heat is here to stay in Hampton Roads with temperatures rising Wednesday. 

At the MacArthur Center Mall, it feels cool, until you walk into the 757 Creative ReUse Center on the second floor. The air is stifling with a big fan trying to create some form of circulation for the store unit. 

The air conditioning unit broke in early July, according to the nonprofit's founder, Beth Dryer. 

"I'm feeling warm. I'm feeling thirsty," Dryer laughed. "And also, really frustrated."

13News Now first reported the nonprofit opening up shop at the MacArthur Center Mall after leaving the Granby Street location. 

"We left there because it was too small and we had maintenance issues, like the air conditioning not working... only to come here to have the A/C broken again," Dryer said. 

Dryer said she's been working with mall managers to try to get the unit fixed. However, she said because the HVAC system is much older, the parts it typically has are outdated. This means they need to create an entirely new piece just to fix the fan portion to blow the cool air through the business. 

It's taken a toll on Dryer's business since she's had to cancel several events and hold off on partnering with other organizations.

"Because of the holiday in July, we were only open for six days in July before our air conditioning broke and we haven't been able to come back since," Dryer explained.  "We've been told so many other times that it'll be fixed by the end of the day, end of tomorrow, and by the end of the week... and it's just spiraled into this big thing and I'll just believe it when it's fixed."

Dryer has been working on negotiating rent credit with mall managers, whom she said have been accommodating. However, the assistance is not covering all of what Dryer said she is losing while being closed. 

"We've got six employees here," said Dryer. "I'm full time and my staff are pretty much part-time, but they still rely on the income that they make here to pay their bills, pay their rent, to buy their groceries and we haven't been able to pay anybody."

August 1 is the earliest expected date Dryer said she may be able to reopen, but she worries the delays in parts for the air conditioning unit will only extend a couple more weeks. 

Unless Mother Nature decides to cool down soon, Dryer said her shop will remain closed until then.

13News Now reached out to mall management about this issue. We are still waiting to hear back.

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