When you pay at least $900 a month in rent, you don’t expect to have workers entering apartments, screeching power tools and boarded windows and balconies as part of the living experience. Many of the residents, primarily college students, living at Social 28 Apartments, have learned to live with constant construction they claim wasn’t advertised.
Located at the intersection of Southwest 13th Street and Southwest Third Avenue, the two apartment buildings have been hard to ignore. Social 28’s north building is covered in scaffolding, and traffic is hampered on Southwest Third Avenue. Large construction vehicles often line the road and signs deter pedestrians and cyclists from sidewalks. Sounds of machinery and construction reverberate through the area, often beginning as early as 7:30 a.m. and lasting until the early evening.
“The environmental noise is unbearable and unsafe,” said Caterina Hernández, 22, a communication sciences and disorders major. She’s been living at Social 28 for three years. Despite the ongoing construction, Hernández praised the complex for its close proximity to the University of Florida…