LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- For dozens of people living in The Terraces Condominiums off Brownsboro Road, it was supposed to be a homeowner’s dream, a place where many would retire.
Instead it’s turned into a nightmare with cracking walls and buckling floors, now they are being told it's not safe to live there anymore. It's moving day for condo owner Bonnie Toborowsky.
"Thought I would move here and never ever leave," Toborowsky said.
But it's not because she wants to leave her condo in The Terraces, It's because she has no choice.
“I'm so sad that I have to leave. I'm gonna have to get an apartment which at my age is not easy at 70," Toborowsky says.
She moved in five years ago and a couple of months later cracks started appearing in the walls. She had it fixed but it came back. But she's not alone.
“Now I am getting emotional and I don't want to cry. This was your dream? Yes it was," owner Barbara Wright said.
Wright is also boxed up and ready to go. She has serious cracks in almost every room, along the walls, ceilings and in the crown molding.
"I am worried about the ceiling coming down. You see the cracks over here around my wood work?" Wright said.
Doors that won't close.
"See I can’t open this door. This has been getting worse for two years." Wright said.
And the floors are leaning and buckling. You can notice the floors just by appearance or even when a golf ball is placed on the floor.
"See it rolls to both sides cause it’s humping in the middle," Wright said.
The city inspected these two buildings at end of December and found a number of structural problems. The city then notified the builder, Five Star Development, and gave them 160 days to fix the problems at their expense.
No one answered at Five Star offices and their attorney did not return our calls.
Mean while, the attorney for the developer, Jefferson Development Group, says they were made aware of the problems and are trying to work with the condo association.
He says his client was confident they had hired a reputable builder at the time.
"It's unfortunate certainly. Could things have been done differently? Like hiring someone else?
Hindsight is always 20/20. But they had no indication prior to now when the problems arose in the last year or so .. year and a half that Five Star had not done work properly," attorney John Cox said.
Terraces hired an engineer to shore up the structure. These beams have been in place for a year, but that raises even more concerns for residents. How long will this hold, and when, if ever, can they move back.
“When do you think you'll be able to get back in? I wish I could answer that. I have no idea," Wright said.
Five Star, the builder, has until Feb. 10 to report their findings and proposition to fix the problem to the city. If they' don’t comply they could have their contractor's license pulled or face other civil and criminal penalties.
