Newport News to extend hotel stays for displaced Seaview Loft residents

© Jonathon Gruenke/Daily Press/TNS Residents of Seaview Lofts move their belongings into moving trucks Friday morning July 1, 2022. The apartment building was condemned by a judge earlier in the week.

Newport News has extended how long it will provide hotels for residents of the Seaview Lofts as necessary repairs have not been made since the building was condemned Friday, according to Kim Lee, city spokesperson.

The city announced Friday that it would pay to house residents of the building who were given 48 hours to leave the property, a deadline that came just as the holiday weekend was beginning.

City staff told the residents Friday morning they would provide hotels until Wednesday and would potentially extend that.

Lee said the city will extend the stays for the 58 households, which include 114 people and 15 pets, at the seven hotels in Newport News and Hampton until July 11.

A judge condemned the building June 28 after the city complained the owner had failed to address a number of problems, and gave residents 48 hours to leave until the problems were addressed.

Over 100 units of the 15-story apartment were occupied when the building was condemned. The structure is on 28th Street on the waterfront in the city’s Southeast Community.

However, the issues have not been fixed since the condemnation, Lee said Tuesday.

The property owner is facing a dozen charges for the condition of the building that is not up to code. The owner also owes Newport News Water Works $70,000, according to Lee.

Ten of the charges are for neither elevator working, one is for electrical hazards, one for the fire prevention systems not being up to code and the last for a broken vent to the boiler, according to Lee.

he building is owned by Seaview Apartments LLC, which purchased the property for $9.3 million on May 20, 2020, according to city documents. Seaview Apartments LLC is listed as inactive, according to State Corporation Commission Clerk’s Information System. The company has not responded to a request for comment.

The property is managed by New Jersey-based BlueRise Group. A representative could not be reached Tuesday and a person who answered the phone at the company’s number Friday declined to identify themself when asked about the condemnation.

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