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Rebuilding the Village
Four months after an act of arson leveled the University Village, a three-story, 406-bed apartment complex on 10th and Barstow avenues, police are hoping a Crime Stoppers re-enactment will result in tips for an investigation that’s still open. Meanwhile, construction workers plan to start rebuilding the 105-unit complex and representatives say applications may be available as early as October. At about 4:30 a.m. on May 20, police and fire officials responded to a fire at the site. Surrounding residents were evacuated and more than 200 fire and police officers tended to the scene. Fresno State’s power went out for a few hours as a result of the fire. Employees of the apartment sent letters of apology to more than 300 students in May and June after a late-night fire ripped through the wooden framework of University Village, which had been scheduled to open in August 2003. Fresno Fire investigators have since classified the case as a criminal arson case, and Don MacAlpine, lead investigator, said he’s satisfied with the progress in the case. “Right now what’s very clear is we have a willful and malicious start of a fire,” MacAlpine said. “We certainly haven’t had any similar cases since, but I can’t guarantee it can’t happen again.” No arrests have been made in the case, but officials are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 498-STOP or Brad Stevens at 621-2350. Stevens said the re-enactment will probably air in the next few weeks. The destruction of University Village, owned by American Campus Communities, displaced hundreds of students. But employees for the company worked to find homes for them. Mary Lou Acosta, an employee for University Village, said they gave students a full refund, mailed out a rental guide and helped a few individuals with more problems finding a place. Many of the students found apartments around Fresno State, she said. “ It was like a nightmare,” Acosta said. “We didn’t know what caused it, if we were going to have a job, or if they were going to rebuild it.” But she said the complex was insured, and plans to rebuild came shortly after the fire was put out. Right now, workers are leveling the real estate and will begin pouring foundational cement in the next few weeks, she said. The applications may be available in mid-October, but Acosta said she is taking down interested students’ information for a future mailing. She said the complex will have the same amenities as the original building and although students aren’t the only residents they’ll accept applications for, most will probably be students since they rent by the room. Jason Wills, media spokesman for American Campus Communities, was not immediately available for comment. |
