When most students’ classes finish today, they will begin digesting the upcoming semester in the comfort of their own dorm, apartment or home. But some students who signed leases to live at The Standard at Baton Rouge, a new apartment complex at 740 W. Chimes St., will wait a bit longer to have their own space after move-in dates have been delayed repeatedly.
According to several residents, the initial move-in date was scheduled for Aug. 9, but a week prior, residents were told by building administration move-in dates were delayed six days to Aug. 15.
Landmark Properties, a national real estate firm, manages and developed The Standard.
President and CEO of Landmark Properties Wes Rogers said the project faced delays a few months into construction because of unsuitable soil conditions, unfavorable weather and a subcontractor who defaulted on the company. Combined, these factors set construction back more than three months.
Rogers said about 80 percent of the residents have moved in, and his construction crew said the last 20 percent of the residents will be able to move in within the next week instead of Sept. 7, as many students were informed.
“We spent millions of dollars of our own money trying to accelerate construction,” Rogers said. “It’s terrible for the students that we caused delays, and we’re doing everything in our power to try to make it right to them.”
The Standard, which began construction in December 2013, promised residents luxury, like granite countertops and rooftop patios. The floorplans ranged from one to five bedrooms, and an added appeal was the complex’s close proximity to campus, according to The Standard’s website.
But the upsides of living in The Standard are slowly evaporating with each delay the complex encounters, future residents say.
“[The Standard management] told us the delay would happen via email right after they closed, so we couldn’t call them about it,” business senior Joseph LaCour said. “Then they started offering us compensation.”
To make up for the delays, Landmark Properties, the development company behind The Standard, offered to place expected residents in hotels and pay them the same amount per day they would be paying to live in the complex.
These hotels, located across the Baton Rouge area, include the Staybridge Suites Baton Rouge Southgate location on Nicholson Drive and Chase Suite Hotel Baton Rouge on Corporate Boulevard. For each day the future residents stay in a hotel, the monetary equivalent of a day’s rent in The Standard will be taken off their September rent.
Some residents have been in hotels for almost two weeks now.
Those who decided to live with friends or family instead of a hotel room are compensated double the per-day rate of those staying in hotels. The Standard is also giving gift cards to future residents as extra consolation.
“I’m staying with my cousin for the two weeks I have to wait,” marketing junior Victoria Rushing said. “I’m not necessarily excited to get up there because there’s not something I can be decorating, and I don’t know where I’m supposed to put my stuff.”
Even with another two-week delay, there is no guarantee the residents will move in on Sept. 7, and some are asking to break their leases to find a more stable place to live.
Posts from those angered by the setbacks mark the The Standard’s public Facebook page. But even when residents move in, there is a possibility work may still need to be done to their living area and the rest of the building.
Rushing said a friend moved into The Standard, and his room was still being painted.
“I’m guessing it’s just little bitty things to get done,” Rushing said. “But I’m hearing it could be longer than [Sept. 7] so we’ll see.”
LaCour also was able to move into his apartment Aug. 15, but he already has observed many reasons why residents wouldn’t be able to live in certain parts of the building, such as incomplete construction.
“[When he arrived,] the electricity wasn’t working in the hallways,” LaCour said. “It looked like an upgraded version of a crack house … but when you go inside the room, everything looks nice.”
LaCour said some of the floors remain unfinished, as well as the two heavily advertised pools, gym, parking garage and clubhouse.
“It’s like we’re paying for the whole product but only getting half of what we paid for,” LaCour said.
When he asked leasing agents to explain the delays, LaCour said The Standard blamed the City of Baton Rouge Department of Public Works without going into detail.
“If you’re building a multimillion dollar property, then you should know to not move a majority of your residents in when the parking garage isn’t even done,” LaCour said. “They can do better. I have faith that they will.”

Gallery • 5 Photos

Nicholas Martino

Cars maneuver past the potholes and construction cones near The Standard on Sunday Aug. 23, 2015, on Aster St.