Knox Box apartments sale expected to close today

The owner of a majority of Knox Box apartments is expected to sell the property to Toll Brothers developers Thursday.

The sale of the Knox Box apartments to development company Toll Brothers is expected to close today, according to a notice posted on tenants’ doors July 31 by Knox management. 

Property Manager Gosia Sylla confirmed that management posted the notice on tenants’ doors but would not comment further on the pending sale. 

“The owner of this rental housing property has entered into a bona fide contract of sale to sell the property to Terrapin Row Property Owner LLC,” the statement reads. 

Todd Dumaresq, Toll Brothers marketing manager, said the company is planning to demolish the buildings as soon as legally possible, though he said he could not comment on the sale until it was finalized. 

If the sale does go through, Toll Brothers has said it plans to exercise the early termination clause in tenants’ leases. The clause says if the property is sold to a developer, tenants must be given at least 90 days’ notice to vacate the property. 

Knox Box tenants could be forced to find a new place to live as soon as November. 

Resident Natalia Peredo said she received an email from Knox Management informing her that the sale will be finalized today. 

She said the letter was brief and did not mention the 90-day termination clause. The letter did mention, however, that her rent was due for the month of August.

The junior economics major said she signed her lease in April but did not read it closely or notice the 90-day termination clause. Upon hearing that her lease may be terminated during the fall semester, she said she was worried. 

“I was stressed because during finals and midterms, it’s difficult to find housing as it is, and I don’t know of any leases starting in October or November,” she said. 

Before this notice, Knox Management had not contacted residents about the pending sale since January, tenant Jacob Butler said. 

Andy Lantz, a sophomore aerospace engineering major, signed his lease in June and did not notice the termination clause. He said it was irresponsible for Knox management to continue to lease apartments after knowing they were likely to be demolished. 

“They just wanted to squeeze the last bit of money from the kids,” Lantz said. “I wish we could do something about it or there was some other way around it.”

Both Lantz and Peredo said they think 90 days is too soon and management should wait until the end of the fall semester to make it easier for students to find housing. 

The university’s Department of Resident Life has expressed concern for the displaced students, though officials have not released any plans to assist displaced residents.

“Resident Life’s ability to assist is limited,” Tiffany Gaines, Resident Life assistant director for housing partnership said in an e-mail. “Due to high demand for on-campus housing and a current waitlist, Resident Life is not able to offer on-campus housing to current Knox Box residents.  

“While the Knox Road project is private and not affiliated with the University, the Off-Campus Housing Services office can help students in using … [on-campus housing] print and online resources to assist them in their search for alternative off-campus housing arrangements.”

Peredo said she plans to look for students studying abroad who may be able to sublease their apartments once she is removed from her Knox Box. Lantz said he is going to use Resident Life’s off-campus housing services to see if they can help.

The development company will be demolishing all but four of the Knox Box residences. The buildings at 4205, 4210, 4214 and 4218 Knox Road will remain, College Park Economic Development Coordinator Michael Stiefvater said.

The property Toll Brothers plans to develop is shaded in yellow.

Terrapin Row, the new apartment complex, is scheduled to open leasing in fall 2016, and will contain 418 units spread over three buildings and two sets of townhouses, totaling about 1,493 beds. The Knox Boxes hold more than 400 beds, Stiefvater said.

Photo courtesy of Toll Brothers.

Here is a copy of the lease signed by students moving into Knox Box apartments:

Read the editorial board’s stance on the Knox Box development:

[ READ MORE: Saying goodbye to Knox ]