Male residents at Birch Plaza had been given a week’s notice to pack up their apartments and relocate mid-semester to various apartment complexes in Rexburg.

The relocation is to accommodate walkway construction. The men's building has 12 apartments that hold up to six roommates each.

Both Birch management and Rexburg Housing, the company that owns the apartment complex, declined to comment on the situation.

The third floor of the men's apartment complex had shown a shift in the walkway pavement block. Once noticed by management, inspectors and construction workers were called to evaluate the situation. 

A current resident at Birch Plaza shared that he noticed that construction trucks continued to flow in and out of the parking lot to survey the situation. He was unsure what the end result would be with the evaluations but did not expect that he’d need to be moved out of his home in a week. 

On June 1, each apartment had a visit from management, telling them they had a week to pack up and relocate to one of the three accommodating apartments: Somerset, Alpine Chalet or Georgetown. 

Birch Plaza's male tenants will not receive refunds on their rent, but their reassigned complexes will be provided at no additional cost. This includes rent, parking and laundry. 

"They gave us a new parking pass for the new apartment location and new laundry codes," said Riley Bradford, a first-semester Birch Plaza resident. "Other than that, there was no other compensation."

Kamoku Pane'e is a resident who has lived at Birch since the fall of 2021. He expressed how he has enjoyed living at the complex and hasn't had many issues until now.

"It was a little confusing," Pane'e said. "Last week they asked us to move just one apartment over, then the following day they told us we didn't need to move at all. Then last Friday they told us we have to move to another building."

Many of the male tenants expressed frustration, stress and confusion. One resident shared how he already was worried about classes, mid-term exams and personal matters.

"I don't see every single detail regarding the construction, but I see no reason why this had to occur now," said one resident who has asked to remain anonymous and has lived at Birch since the winter of 2022. "I paid to live at Birch for both the location and included amenities. Now I am restricted on where I am to live, along with the amenities provided."

It remains unknown when the construction will be completed or if residents will return back to their apartments before the end of the semester.