SHSU Sues Contractors For Sam Houston Village Damages

This week the Houstonian reported that SHSU filed a breach of contract lawsuit in Walker County Civil Court against contractor and property developer American Campus Communities and its subsidiaries seeking more than $9 million in damages to the decade-old Sam Houston Village (SHV) dormitory:

SHSU is claiming that damages from ineffective and faulty waterproofing along with improperly supported cement foundation and problems with heating and cooling systems of SHV have cost it millions through repair costs, inability to rent rooms, among other factors, according to court documents.

During a post-construction inspection, the Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. of engineers, architects and material scientists found suspicious points around the perimeter of SHV leading to the belief that the waterproofing could be faulty.

During the following months and rainy seasons several spots of water leakage arouse leading to cracks in numerous corners of walls.

The seepage and cracks resulted in SHSU having to hire another company to reinforce and re-waterproof the erring walls of SHV. The lawsuit alleges that American Campus Communities and their subcontractors refused to make repairs.

WJE returned in November 2010 to investigate the parking structure at SHV and found multiple cracks in the podiums and columns throughout the foundational structure and concluded them to be caused by forces derived from Hurricane Ike's winds.

ACC and its subsidiaries have denied any and all responsibilities for the damages, according to court documents it filed in the case.

Company attorneys claim that all responsibility for any problems resulting from construction of SHV are the responsibility of subcontractors Capstone Building Corporation, Jaster-Quitanilla & Associates, HBC Engineering, N/K/A Terracon, Craycroft Price Architects, Craycroft McElroy Hendryx Architects, CAI, and the owners John Thomas Craycroft and Don H. Price.