Alexandria apartment complex without AC amid record-setting heat wave

ALEXANDRIA, Va. ( DC News Now ) — Families in an Alexandria apartment complex are suffering through oppressive heat without air conditioning because of a broken chiller.

At the Ashlawn complex, a part of Southern Towers just off I-395, the air conditioning stopped functioning on Monday, and was still out on Tuesday, as temperatures climbed past 102 degrees at nearby Reagan National Airport.

Residents of the building said the problems are just the latest in a long list of issues that has garnered lawmakers’ attention in the past.

Dawit, who has lived in the building for the past few months told DC News Now he plans on leaving next month because of all the building’s issues.

“It’s terrible,” he said. “You cannot even sleep,” he said.

Meko Ahn is among many people leaving to go elsewhere to beat the heat.

“[I tried] to open up the windows — doesn’t help,” Ahn said.

The CIM Group, which owns the building, said it is making accommodations for residents. They include first-come, first-serve portable air conditioning units, reserving room blocks in nearby hotels for residents free of charge and a cooling center inside the building.

They are also working to acquire the malfunctioning part, and anticipate they could get it on Wednesday.

However, the timing of the outage is frustrating for the tenants who expressed other concerns with DC News Now.

“There are elderly people in the building and there are children that are worse off than me,” Ahn said. “I would just keep an eye out for that.”

The building, which is federally-backed, is a home for many immigrant communities looking for affordable housing. Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine wrote a letter to the management group last year, urging better maintenance and safety, citing “declining conditions” and “unresolved maintenance requests.”

In response, The CIM Group provided DC News Now with a statement:

“On Monday evening, The Ashlawn apartment community experienced an unexpected air conditioning outage due to a malfunctioning chiller motor. Our vendors arrived on-site shortly thereafter and have been working diligently to restore climate control. Repairs are near complete, but we are waiting for parts that were not available from the manufacturer until tomorrow.

Ensuring the safety and comfort of our residents is our top priority and we have taken swift measures to support them during this period. We have been proactively communicating with residents across a variety of channels about all the resources that we have made available over the last 24 hours. Upon learning of the outage, we immediately procured a number of portable AC units for residents’ personal use. We have worked diligently to secure the largest room blocks possible at nearby hotels to provide to residents free of charge for a one-night stay. Further, we promptly set up an air-conditioned cooling room in our community center, offering residents water and refreshments along with access to Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, and a microwave.

While this outage was unexpected, we are going to great lengths to support our impacted residents and we extend our sincerest gratitude to them for their patience and understanding. Their cooperation is greatly appreciated as we continue to diligently restore service as soon as possible.”

The CIM Group

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