State inspectors are continuing to investigate what caused an elevator at the 345 Flats apartment complex in Kent to suddenly fall four stories.

Meanwhile, residents are questioning why the elevator remains out of commission three months later and raising other safety concerns.

At 5:30 p.m. Dec. 14, two people inside the elevator suffered minor injuries when it plummeted from the fifth to first floor, according to the Kent Fire Department. 

The elevator began experiencing issues on Oct. 29, when it would get stuck on certain floors and not move when the call button was pressed. 

After these issues persisted for several weeks, a vendor was called to repair the elevator. The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance and Labor approved it for use seven days before its collapse, according to state records. 

“I have no idea why it would pass inspection,” said Mark Miller, vice president of operations for Book and Ladder, which owns the 147-unit apartment complex, located at 345 S. Depeyster St.

Miller said he does not think anyone may be at fault, and that this was an unforeseen accident. 

“There is currently an investigation going to try to determine what happened, and we are also determining steps forward to be able to get the elevator back in operation,” Miller said. 

Apartment residents are concerned with the amount of times they have been without a working elevator. 

Drew Berkshire, one of the residents living on the third floor, said she wonders about the accessibility of the building. 

“One of my roommates has knee problems,” Berkshire said. “She can use the steps and everything, but I know that it would be easier for her to not use the stairs and use the elevator.”

When the elevator is eventually repaired, Berkshire said she will still be apprehensive about its reliability. 

“Once it starts working again, I think I would need the first 100 people to ride, and then I would,” Berkshire said. “I will not be riding it for a while, and even when it broke down for Halloween and then worked for a week, I didn’t even ride it then.”  

Another resident of 345 Flats, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, has lived there for the past couple of years and said the situation has left a lot of people feeling displeased with the apartment complex. 

“They have a ton of vacancies, no one is [re-signing], and I feel like that’s because of what’s been going on,” they said. 

They said they also complained about the frequency of the management shifts, as the complex has had around four different managers in the past six years. The manager when the elevator failure occurred was relocated to Texas in February.  

345 Flats management could not be reached for comment about the security allegations. 

The main issue right now is accessibility on the higher floors, this resident said, since each floor has ADA-compliant rooms and is occupied by wheelchair users. 

“I don’t know what can be done,” they said. “I just feel bad for people that have issues walking or chronic illnesses.” 

Miller said the accessibility issues are being dealt with on an individual basis. 

The elevator repairs are taking longer than expected due to issues with vendors involved in the logistics and scheduling, Miller said, but Book and Ladder is working hard to fix the situation. 

As of March 17, the elevator has not been given a set date of return. 

“I know that residents are not happy with the process, and I get that 100%,” Miller said. “I want to tell you that as a management company, we are not happy with this process either, that it has taken far longer than we expected, but I would want you to know that we are doing everything in our power to expedite this as fast as possible.”

Kayla Gleason is a beat reporter. Contact her at [email protected].