By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — Students in at least two apartments at The Union at Dearborn lost heat and water for several hours Jan. 7 after a pipe burst due to the extreme winter weather that hit the area.
The student apartments, at 760 and 780 Town Center Drive across Evergreen Road from the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus, opened on Sept. 1.
In a message to residents posted on Facebook Jan. 7, management at The Union stated that due to the extreme temperatures a pipe froze and burst, “causing the alarm system to sound and 2 apartments to be affected.”
The message also said that the affected were evacuated and the residents were “able to wait in the Victors’ Den until the situation was resolved.” The Victor’s Den is the main student center in the complex, with meeting rooms, student gathering areas and university offices.
The message also said heat and water to the two apartments was restored later that morning.
Calls to management at The Union were not returned by press time.
UM-D also was affected by the weather, as it cancelled classes campus-wide both Jan. 6 and 7 after several inches of snow fell and the temperatures dropped to 15 degrees below zero.
The Union is a $30 million four-story multi-building complex.
There are 145 apartments in the complex and it can house just over 500 students.
Though geared toward UM-D students, the complex is not owned by the university, but by Urban Campus Communities, a private company.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected])