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Loss of heat, water affecting 66 Aurora condo units

Aurora officials have declared 66 condominium units uninhabitable after this week’s severe weather left them without heat and water for several days.

Officials fear some of the residents may be displaced for at least another week.

The units are in 11 buildings at the Willows of Fox Valley complex on the 100 and 200 blocks of Gregory Street on the city’s far east side, spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in a news release. The entire complex includes 222 units in 42 buildings.

Ferrelli said officials were alerted to the problem when the Aurora Fire Department responded to a report of a broken water pipe in one of the units around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. City inspectors came to the complex about 1 p.m. that same day and, after meeting with the property management company, discovered several other buildings were without heat and water because frozen pipes had damaged boilers.

The management company indicated it already had taken steps to begin making repairs and had informed residents in the affected units that their heat and water likely would be off for several days. Most of those residents moved in with family or friends, officials said.

When city inspectors returned late Thursday they were told the problems had spread at one point to at least 102 units and 17 buildings. Repairs were made to several of those buildings, officials said, but 11 remain without water and heat.

The city has deemed those units uninhabitable and urged residents still living there to find shelter elsewhere, officials said. Several groups, including the Salvation Army and Association of Individual Development Victim Services, are working to find temporary shelter for families needing assistance.

Officials stressed that all of the units are structurally safe and have not been condemned. They said residents may continue living in their units — and some have opted to do just that — or come and go as they wish.

Ferrelli said the city is monitoring the repairs to ensure they meet Aurora’s codes. Officials expect all the remaining units to be repaired within a week.

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