Weeks before Paul Escher was supposed to move into his new apartment near the University of Minnesota campus, the first-year medical student got an e-mail that forced him to change his plans.
Construction on his three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment in a new building called Prime Place wouldn't be done in time for his Sept. 2 move-in date. He and his two roommates had to find somewhere else to live — with classes starting in just five weeks.
"It is with much regret that we inform you that despite the contractors' best efforts, portions of Prime Place Minneapolis will not be completed by Sept. 2," the e-mail from general managers at Prime Place LLC said. "Your apartment is in the area that will not be completed. We apologize for the serious inconvenience this will cause you."
Escher and an unknown number of other U students — Prime Place hasn't disclosed how many leases were affected — were given two choices: They could either end their lease and get their security deposit back or wait until Dec. 29 to move into Prime Place and get $1,500 for their trouble.
"It was stressful because A, I didn't know where I was going to live, and B, I knew that I was probably going to end up spending more money than I had budgeted," Escher said. "You can imagine that when you're heading into the start of a new school year in a new place, those are things you don't want to be worrying about."
Reached by phone, Prime Place general manager Blake Franklin declined to comment. Chris Elsey of Elsey Partners, the Kansas-based developer behind the planned 201-unit project, also declined to comment.
The apartment complex is located on SE. 27th Avenue, near TCF Bank Stadium. University spokesman Evan Lapiska said the U doesn't own the land and doesn't have any involvement with the property.
The Prime Place website shows monthly rents at the Minneapolis complex range from $1,008 for a studio to $538 per person for a four-bedroom.
