By William R. Levesque
“TAMPA — As much as anyone since the 1998 opening of the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa, Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich has endured the building’s endless parade of problems.
Things always seem to be broken, leaking or closed for repairs at her 17th-floor office and courtroom.
“Of the building’s landlord, the General Services Administration, Kovachevich bluntly said, “They don’t care.”
Interviews last week with Kovachevich and one of her law clerks provide a glimpse of the anger and frustration of those who work in the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse. The building is now undergoing $39 million in repairs and upgrades — nearly half the $85 million it cost to build the place.
And they call into question the GSA’s insistence that mold and mildew problems have been eliminated.
Meanwhile, the general contractor that built the courthouse says it previously offered to work with the GSA to address repairs but was rebuffed by the agency.”
Thank You National Apartment Association. I will do my best to get this very important information out ASAP to numerous owners, investors, huge property management companies (e.g., Riverstone Residential), attorneys, and judges, AND, of course, to the MANY people who are currently living in MOLD-INFESTED APARTMENT COMPLEXES right now! katy
“Changes in construction methods have caused US buildings to become perfect petri dishes for mold and bacteria to flourish when water is added. Instead of warning the public and teaching physicians that the buildings were causing illness; in 2003 the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, a think-tank, and a workers comp physician trade organization mass marketed an unscientific nonsequitor to the courts to disclaim the adverse health effects to stave off liability for financial stakeholders of moldy buildings. Although publicly exposed many times over the years, the deceit lingers in US courts to this very day.”
Sharon Noonan Kramer
