8 Hickory Valley Apartments Having HVAC Issues

Eight units at Highlands Residential’s Hickory Valley Apartments are having issues getting air conditioning to the second floor.

Developer Alvin Nance said they are looking into whether the HVAC units are faulty or if the units they chose are poorly suited for those apartments. Nance said Highlands Residential Director of Operations Kelly Stewart purchased window A/C units that Nance will pay for to cool the apartments in the meantime.

“The additional electricity and all of that, we will absorb on the development side,” Nance said. “We will figure who we charge on our side, OK, for that. But I’ve asked Kelly and they’re tracking that, and even they’ve told the resident that we’re tracking that portion, that additional utility cost.”

Nance said the HVAC unit vendor and a mechanical engineer will be at the site on next Thursday to work on a solution. He said the worst-case scenario is that they have to completely replace the units.

“Trust me, somebody will be paying for this, other than you guys,” Nance said. “The reality is that yeah, it’s working, but it’s not working as Kelly (Stewart) was saying. You’ve not getting enough air flow.”

Nance said they will also be covering the costs that go beyond the residents’ utilities allowance in the eight affected units.

“We’re trying to also address the air conditioning issue at the unit, but we’re also trying to make sure it doesn’t have any economic impact on the resident who is living there, nor onto HRS,” Nance said.

Nance said it is important that they figure out what the issue is because they are considering using similar units for the upcoming Magnolia Ridge project.

“We don’t want to repeat this mistake on Magnolia,” Nance said. “Get the right unit in there at the very beginning so that is is functioning the way it should.”