Downtown Columbia’s brand-new Gateway 737 apartment complex popular with students has been undergoing maintenance issues in its first few months of being open.

Students at the complex near the Colonial Life Arena have been suffering through unit flooding, non-stop fire alarms and having no hot water.

A sign in the building’s lobby says: “#Gateway to the Good Life.” But residents have been turning to University of South Carolina for help and change.

USC Internal Communications Manager Collyn Taylor said Gateway 737 is a private residential facility not owned or operated by USC.

“However, the property manager, Holder Properties, is working to remediate the water leak that occurred Sunday afternoon as a result of a broken sprinkler head,” Taylor said of the late October water problem.

Students living on the second and third floor were offered space at a nearby hotel for a few days while the leak was being repaired.

“It was more so just inconvenient,” said student and third-floor resident Megan Uhron. “We had to move all our stuff into a hotel room with little preparation.”

Residents of a second-floor unit that also underwent flooding expressed bitterness about the other issues they have been experiencing in their first couple months of being residents.

“The fire alarms literally go off at least 10 times a week. It’s crazy,” said Kathryn Vaspasiano, a sophomore. “A lot of times the hot water will just completely cut out. Same with the Wi-Fi.”

She and her roommates said they have begun to realize there are more cons than pros thus far.

“The building itself is really nice, but the wiring of it is just not good,” she said. “I think they put up the building a little too fast.”

One student on the seventh floor has not only been dealing with cold showers but also thinks the building is in a hectic location.

“The location is annoying,” Rebecca West said. “Gateway is right next to Colonial Life Arena, and it (recently) took me 30 minutes to get into my parking garage because of all the event traffic.”