CINCINNATI — Even though it was promised in their leases, a number of University of Cincinnati students living at an off-campus apartment building said they will soon be forced to give up their parking passes due to overcrowding at an attached parking garage.
We first reported on the issue in September, after receiving tips that promised free garage parking could not be honored by the Deacon apartment complex, located on Straight Street.
According to an email from management sent on Monday, due to an "inadvertent oversubscription" of parking at the garage, some people will have their parking passes disabled on Oct. 13.
WATCH: We hear from students losing their parking passes on how they're dealing with the fallout
According to student tenants, the group whose parking passes will be revoked next week was chosen at random. The email stated that those losing passes would be credited $2,000 for their rent.
"Over the past several weeks, we have actively sought solutions to address the limited availability of parking spaces, including conducting rounds of voluntary parking pass releases among the student tenants," the email stated.
"Not a whole lot of people accepted (the voluntary parking pass release) from what I've heard," Mariano Andaluz, a University of Cincinnati junior, said.
Andaluz is in his third year of living at the Deacon and said this is the first year he has experienced problems with parking.
"It's a complete violation of our trust," Andaluz said. "All of us are college students who, frankly enough, don't have enough money to find another parking garage."
We asked Andaluz what his prospects for parking alternatives looked like.
"So, I can either park on the street, risk my car getting broken into," Andaluz said. "I can pay to park at another spot ... and that's like $30 a night to park, which is ridiculous."
Jack Elko, a UC sophomore in his first year living at the Deacon, also received the unlucky email on Monday. Luckily for him, Elko said his employer will provide temporary parking down the road.
"It's been a pretty big issue for a lot of people who don't have a backup plan, like I do, and they're just kind of out of luck in the regard to finding anywhere to park that isn't going to be super expensive at this point," Elko said.
We reached out to the company that owns the Deacon, Yugo, with several specific questions. A spokesperson did not answer the questions but provided us with a general statement regarding the situation.
"We understand and take seriously the concerns raised, and we have been actively seeking a solution for impacted residents over the past few weeks," a Yugo spokesperson said. "Despite best efforts, and due to capacity constraints, parking is not available for all student residents this year. We are working closely with those affected and apologize for the inconvenience caused."
According to its website, Yugo is a student housing provider that operates 130 locations across 12 countries in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia.
The "about us" section on the company's website reads, "We’re on a mission: a mission to better the planet, empower our students on their educational journey, support their needs and provide them with a safe space to do this,"
Multiple students we spoke with on Tuesday said residents at Hub Cincinnati, a student housing complex across the street from the Deacon, also park in the garage.
"The garage has a sign that says, 'Deacon permit only.' It doesn't say, 'Deacon and the Hub,'" Andaluz said. "When I found out that Hub people were parking there, I was obviously upset, because then the building is trying to prioritize money and profit over the security of residents."
We asked Yugo how many parking spots in the garage belong to residents of the Deacon versus residents of Hub Cincinnati. They did not respond to the question.
We also spoke with about half a dozen parents on Tuesday. Many of them are scrambling to find alternative solutions to parking for their children.
Kristen Miller, whose daughter is a resident of the Deacon, said the issue isn't about inconvenience but rather safety.
"The reason we, along with so many others, selected the Deacon was parking. Parking means safety for our children as they leave and return from their apartments, especially at night," Miller wrote in a text to us on Tuesday. "Now that safety has been taken from them. No matter where they are fortunate enough to find parking at this point, it will not be where they live, at the Deacon, so they are no longer safe. You can throw all the money you want at us for the 'inconvenience,' but you cannot put a price on our children’s safety."
