GALVESTON, Texas – A group of seniors at a Galveston Island retirement community says they have been displaced for nearly a year after a pipe failure caused significant flooding — and they want to know when they can finally go home.
Residents of the Meridian of Galveston say management relocated them to the Inn at the Waterpark following the incident. But they say the conditions and level of care at the hotel are not the same as what they were promised — and what they’re paying for.
“My biggest complaint is I’m paying $3,400 to live in a single hotel room,” one resident said.
The frustration runs deeper than the accommodations. John Schreiber says he feels like residents have been forgotten by management.
“The advertisements they put out to get people to come to the Meridian advertised active transportation available and certain amenities — and they haven’t been delivering on them,” Schreiber said.
Gary Delzer says the problems started when a pipe on the sixth floor failed, causing flooding that spread throughout the building. He took photos of the damage that followed. What was supposed to be a short-term fix has stretched far longer than anyone expected.
“At first they said it would be a very short number of weeks or months to fix everything, and now it’s been a year — and it always gets postponed,” Delzer said.
KPRC 2 took those concerns directly to Barry Goldstein, executive director of the Meridian of Galveston. He acknowledged the delays but says the facility is now moving toward getting residents back home.
“Right now, where we’re at is we’ve submitted our application for certificate of occupancy,” Goldstein said. “What that allows is the city to go and review all the inspections they’ve had and to conduct further inspections to determine and ensure that it’s safe for the residents to return.”
As for why the process took so long, Goldstein said the scope of the damage was far greater than initially anticipated.
“Two-thirds of the building had damage to it,” Goldstein said. “It’s basically like an onion — when you find an area to fix, it leads to things that require new code, and we would have to repair to that code. We had challenges with the contractors to get the appropriate work done and changed contractors a couple of times throughout the process.”
Goldstein says the city now has 10 days to review the certificate of occupancy request. He is optimistic there will be no further delays and that residents could begin moving back in shortly after.
As an added incentive for residents who choose to return, Goldstein says the Meridian will offer a two-year freeze on any rent increases.