Julia Heimlich and Kyle Rempfer
Staff writers
After a five-alarm fire tore through parts of the Fuse 47 apartment building last week, the complex is no longer on track to open in July, and those who signed leases are seeking other living arrangements. The property faces a possible controlled demolition, according to Prince George’s County Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady.
More than 200 firefighters rushed to Berwyn House Road on the morning of April 24, when flames and heavy smoke were reportedly seen at the under-construction building.
The fire was the “largest suppression effort and the highest fire loss estimate” in the department’s history, according to a news release. The cause of the fire still remains unknown, but the department believes it to be accidental, according to a news release. The county fire department has not released an official report, Brady said.
“The investigation continues, one of the problems being that we can’t get up into that area because the building is still structurally unsafe,” Brady said.
As of February, 19 of the complex’s 275 units had been filled since early leasing began Jan. 25.
Miranda Rosen, a sophomore animal science major, signed a lease with Fuse 47 in March and called the phone number listed on their website a day after the building’s destruction to ask whether she should look for new housing.
“They were like, ‘It’ll be fine, you can move in on time, don’t worry about it. We’ll get it settled.’ Obviously that’s not happening,” Rosen said. After searching for local housing vacancies, she ended up signing a lease with Westchester Tower Apartment Homes near Greenbelt Park, she said.
Fuse 47 did not reach out to Rosen to explain the situation until two days after the fire, she said.
Fuse 47 property director Randy Johnson notified all future residents via email April 26 that their application fees and holding deposits would be returned within five business days. Rosen said she spent $338 on application and holding fees, but only received a $285-refund from Fuse 47 in the mail.
Fuse 47 officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Johnson wrote that while he was happy to answer any questions directly, he would not be able to speak about the fire — a statement Rosen found “a little weird.”
“It’s not like we’re outsiders looking for a story or something,” Rosen said. “We signed a lease, entered into a legal contract to live here and they won’t even tell us anything about the incident that ends up breaking this legal contract.”
[Read more: Five-alarm fire at Fuse 47 apartment complex appears to be accidental, officials say]
As of May 1, there were still 386 vacancies at both University View complexes, said Katherine Foote, the apartment’s marketing manager.
The Varsity is filled for the upcoming year and is “severely loaded by waitlist submissions,” said Travis D’Souza, a community assistant in the off-campus apartment building.
According to Terrapin Row’s database, the complex had 147 vacancies left as of May 3. Landmark has about 20 open spots.
The Department of Resident Life has not yet received any inquiries from students who had planned to live in Fuse 47, though they are happy to help them, said Tracy Kiras, assistant director for communication and marketing.
“Our Off-Campus Housing Services office is ready to serve as a resource for any student who may have been affected by the fire,” Kiras said.
Fuse 47’s email address still exists, but the phone number previously listed on its website has since been removed and “is not being monitored at this time,” according to a recorded message to the receiving end.
Meanwhile, the fate of the building is still unclear.
“We suspect that there will be some type of demolition of the affected area and then a re-building of [those areas],” Brady said.
[Read more: PHOTO GALLERY: Fire at Fuse 47 apartment complex]
The property was acquired in 2015 for $10 million, not including development costs, by Wood Partners, the Atlanta-based property management company, the Washington Business Journal reported. Property damages from the fire were estimated at about $39 million.
While Wood Partners owns the building, they also have lenders and a bank they are responsible for, said Margaret McFarland, director of this university’s real estate program at The Colvin Institute. McFarland is also an architecture professor at this university.
The Colvin Institute teaches masters students at this university’s architecture school a curriculum that covers finance, law, site design, construction management, property and asset management, as well as marketing and commercial leasing.
Properties with extensive damage are sometimes subject to reviews on whether a developer can proceed with construction in the event of a disaster, McFarland said. Players involved in the process, including the lender, any investors and insurance companies, would likely all have a say, she said.
“The resolution of so many interests is not a speedy process,” McFarland said.
If demolished, Fuse 47 would go through its own engineering process for reconstruction, Brady said. Once the plan is developed, the county’s permit office must approve it, he added.
