Criticized ODU dorm receives stamp of approval

NORFOLK

The alarm system is fixed, exterior doors have been repaired and additional security guards have been hired at The District at ODU, a popular private dormitory that city officials cracked down on earlier this year after an inspection found myriad security and safety problems.

City leaders inspected the dorm in August after parents complained of lax security, frequent false fire alarms and assaults in the dorm.

The inspection occurred at a time when crime adjacent to ODU had become a concern. As ODU's enrollment has grown, more students have moved into nearby neighborhoods, where some high-profile crimes have occurred.

The District, built last year to house about 930 students, abuts an industrial area just south of ODU's campus.

Mayor Paul Fraim said Friday that he is satisfied with the progress the dorm's managers have made. He provided a copy of an email that Cynthia Hall, a deputy city attorney, wrote to Fraim and City Manager Marcus Jones late Thursday about the dorm.

Hall indicated that nearly every recommendation the city made after an Aug. 20 inspection has been implemented.

Hall met with ODU officials and Derek Anderson, a partner in Residential Housing Development, the Houston-based company that manages the dorm, on Wednesday.

According to her email, in addition to more security guards and repairs to the alarm system, a disciplinary system was adopted for students and a security assessment of the complex was completed.

"I think the appropriate level of attention was directed to resolving the outstanding issues," Hall wrote.

An August visit from Hall and members of the city's Bar Task Force was unannounced and occurred late at night. While there, they found unauthorized people entering the building, malfunctioning fire alarms and no security guards in sight.

City officials denied a request from The Virginian-Pilot to see a copy of Hall's report from that visit because, they said, of an ongoing criminal investigation. The newspaper obtained a copy, however, anonymously from two city employees in September.

In the report, Hall indicated she found "serious public safety issues" that needed immediate attention.

Residential Housing Development opened The District on land it purchased from ODU's real estate foundation. Although the dorm is supposed to be limited to ODU students, the university does not manage the property. Located between 38th and 39th streets, it is just south of the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Residential Housing Development operates half a dozen other private dormitories, including some near Michigan State, West Virginia, Texas and Tennessee.

Anderson originally disputed much of Hall's report. Contacted on Friday, he said some of the issues raised by Hall were a result of misinformation. "In some instances, we did not provide adequate information to the city," he said.

He acknowledged that the changes requested by the city and ODU have improved The District.

"We have a large investment in that community," he said. "We are always looking for ways to improve our relationship with ODU and the city."

Ellen Neufeldt, vice president for student engagement and enrollment services at ODU, said "Many positive changes have taken place over the last few months."

Anderson said one of the biggest improvements has been the reduction in false fire alarms, a persistent issue that occurred frequently last school year. He said the dorm has begun offering rewards to anyone who turns in the names of those pulling the fire alarms. That has resulted in the arrest of several nonstudents, he said.

"The city took it from there and is prosecuting," he said.

Hall referenced the reduction of fire alarms in her email but also noted that calls to the Norfolk police have also been greatly reduced.

"The nature of calls of service have changed to more nuisance related issues rather than criminal and public safety issues," she wrote.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com