The Village to change management

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The Village at South Campus will change management companies, effective Nov. 13, according to Jamie Dunn, managing partner of Peak Capital Partners.

A change in management has been planned for several months but was accelerated because of a recent conflict in which management entered residences without permission in order to confiscate pumpkins, according to Dunn.

One of the largest and newest apartment complexes in Provo, the Village is currently managed by Alliance Residential, a third-party management company based in Phoenix. Peak Capital Partners built and owns the Village and will launch Peak Living, a sister company, to manage its assets in Utah and Colorado, including the Village, later this month, Dunn said.

While management companies will change, the on-site manager involved in the conflict will remain in a management position at the Village.

Travis Baker, regional manager for Alliance Residential, said the decision by on-site managers to enter apartments and take pumpkins was not in agreement with the company’s policies and procedures.

“They were trying to act in the best interest for the residents,” Baker said. “They weren’t by any means what our policies and procedures would agree with.”

“I think we can do a better job overseeing the property,” Dunn said. “I don’t know that the employees at the Village were receiving the best guidance (under Alliance Residential), and I’m willing to give them another chance.”

Dunn said Peak Capital has maintained a good relationship with Alliance Residential, but the pumpkin conflict is not the only problem they have had with management at the Village.

On Oct. 14, the assistant manager of the complex delivered a notice to residents informing them pumpkins were not allowed in any units, hallways, balconies or porches. “Our staff will be removing any pumpkins found in any unit tomorrow,” the notice stated.

While the Village housing contract prohibited pumpkins on balconies and in halls, it did not include any ban on pumpkins inside the apartments. The contract also prohibits landlords from entering apartments without permission.

Along with his roommates, BYU senior and Village resident Jeff Hall left his own notice addressed to the landlord on the outside of his apartment door. The handwritten note stated, “You do not have permission to enter our residence for the purpose of inspecting it for pumpkins and removing pumpkins. Entering our residence will constitute a violation of the contract … and will be met with legal recourse.”

On Oct. 15, the Village assistant manager entered residences without permission and confiscated two small pumpkins from Hall’s apartment.

“It was certainly a violation of the agreement the management has with the tenants,” said Garry Briggs, general manager of the BYU Off-Campus Housing Office. “The interpretation of the rental agreement was wrong by the management.”

Hall called the police but did not press charges. He met with Village management at the BYU Center for Conflict Resolution. Village management acknowledged it shouldn’t have removed the pumpkins, and the two parties reached an agreement that management cannot remove items from an apartment unless requested by a roommate, Hall said.

Dunn said he hopes to address complaints like these by launching Peak Living and being more involved in Village management.

Hall said the pumpkin incident was the first problem he had with the Village management.

“I’m glad (the Village) took action, and I’m happy with the resolution we reached,” he said.

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