Railyard Flats likely without power until early 2023

Oct. 17—Tenants of Santa Fe's Railyard Flats apartment complex have been waiting for electricity to be restored to their units since June 15. Now, it seems the problem may persist until early next year.

A representative of Casey Jones LLC, the complex's ownership group, said in an email that a 1,200-amp panel that is a "major component" needed to restore the electricity won't be shipped to them until Jan. 26, 2023.

"We had been led to believe the building would be up and running by mid/late November, but the manufacturer of the parts would not previously release estimated ship dates for parts," the spokesperson said in an email.

This represents progress from earlier this month, when the manufacturer told Casey Jones the panel wouldn't be available until March 6, 2023, and Casey Jones told tenants the power wouldn't be back on until mid-March. The spokesperson said the company looked into temporary fix solutions with multiple companies but had to abandon all of them for various reasons.

"The whole team is devastated on behalf of our tenants, as we really hoped to welcome everyone home late November," the spokesperson said. "We will continue to work to try to get the fix done sooner, but must comply with all the requirements of [Public Service Company of New Mexico], [Construction Industries Division] and the city, who, like us, want the solution to be safe for the building and the tenants."

Railyard Flats' electrical woes have displaced those living in the building's 58 residential units for months. It remains unclear what caused the building's power failure.

The long wait has seen the camaraderie between tenants dissipate, and the dismissal of longtime management company, Greystar Real Estate Partners.

"[Previous on-site management and maintenance] are no longer with the property, and we believe they are no longer with Greystar," Casey Jones LLC wrote to tenants in an email update on Oct. 7. "They are not welcome on the property."

A representative for Casey Jones said Greystar's management of the building was terminated on Sept. 30.

"The owners have decided to manage the property directly and have a new team for management and maintenance," the representative wrote.

The representative stated it was a "business decision" but would not provide more specifics about why Greystar was dismissed.

Donald Topkis said he has been living in a first-floor apartment at Railyard Flats since the building opened in 2018. While he mentioned experiencing minor electrical issues in the past, he said widespread problems did not surface until June.

Early on, Topkis said, when it was predicted electrical issues at the apartment building would only take between 60 and 90 days to resolve, it was easier to tough it out. However, having dealt with Greystar for about four years, Topkis said he is unsatisfied with Casey Jones LLC's new management team.

"What I believe to be the quality and character of the new management makes me hesitant about wanting to [return to my apartment]," Topkis said. "I've had a lot of interaction with Greystar over four years of their management ... and I found them pretty consistently to be competent, and credible, and ethical."

One of Topkis' gripes with new management centered on what he termed "a series of financial mistakes." He said when asking for reimbursements for hotel stays and rent he paid while not staying at Railyard Flats, the new management company said they owed Topkis about $3,000 less than his calculations, although he was eventually paid the whole amount.

"We are trying to resolve any outstanding hotel bills," Casey Jones LLC told tenants in an email notification Oct. 7. "We were told by Greystar that all hotel reimbursements had been made, but some tenants have let us know they had not yet been paid, and we have been able to give them reimbursement checks."

During the summer, Mayor Alan Webber offered tenants affected by the electrical issues housing in the city-owned midtown campus on St. Michael's Drive. He said 16 units had been set aside for Railyard Flats residents in early July. However, city spokesman David Herndon wrote in an email Friday only two tenants from Railyard Flats are currently staying in the "Midtown apartments."

Topkis initially gave the accommodations at the midtown campus a try once it became clear he wouldn't be able to live in his home for some time.

However, after staying there for one night, Topkis said he found more comfort staying at numerous hotels throughout Santa Fe. He has also been staying with family in California.

"The mayor and the city went to some effort to make those [units] available to residents," Topkis said. "I just felt a lot better in various hotel rooms."

Bernice Geiger, a spokeswoman for the state Regulation and Licensing Department, wrote in an email Thursday that New Mexico's Construction Industries Division last met with building management and contractors Sept. 14, prior to Greystar's dismissal.

"The [division] is on standby and ready to expedite permits and inspections as soon as equipment is installed and ready for inspection," Geiger wrote.

While Casey Jones LLC and the city wait for parts to arrive, tenants have been left to make other housing arrangements. Reimbursements for hotel and rental home stays ended in mid-July, based on previous reports.

Casey Jones said in an email that a rumor that the electrical problems are "a ruse by the owners to empty the building to make the whole thing a giant Airbnb" is untrue.

"We are generally against Airbnb/short-term rentals as an overpriced barrier to actual residents of Santa Fe finding housing," the spokesperson wrote. "In addition, the Santa Fe City Council, who controls the ground lease for the Railyard Flats building, made it clear before the sale they would not tolerate any Airbnb or short-term rentals at Railyard Flats, something with which we enthusiastically agree."

Donna Huaman-Castillo first moved to Santa Fe from Texas in June. Hoping to start a new life, she made arrangements to live in a Railyard Flats apartment. Months later, after having her dreams dashed and the public's attention fizzle out, Huaman-Castillo said she recently signed a yearlong lease for another apartment.

She said she turned in her keys Sept. 30.

"It's bittersweet. It took me a while to turn in the keys because each time I would go it was, you know, memories of walking in. ... It was the place that I had rented to move, to start a new life," Huaman-Castillo said.

She added she doesn't know whether she will return to Railyard Flats once the building is finally repaired.

"I do have that year lease, but the way it's been here, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," Huaman-Castillo said. "Everything seems to be so, so uncertain."