Recent new reports announce that Denton, TX officials have begun contacting apartment complexes throughout the city in an effort to ensure that no more “decorative,” but accessible, balconies lead to severe injuries. These efforts stem from the balcony collapse accident at The Grove apartments in Denton, TX on September 2nd. In that disastrous accident, three men who were leaning upon the rail of a “Juliet” balcony to have a smoke fell three stories to the concrete below when the balcony sheared off the wall beneath them. In effect, in the balcony collapse accident at The Grove apartments, the Juliet balcony became a Juliet express elevator to the ground below.
We noted just after the balcony collapse accident at The Grove apartments that Denton City Councilman Kevin Roden had stepped forward to call for inspections of The Grove apartments. His efforts at that time may have focused on determining whether the single balcony that collapsed was the sole danger at that complex, or whether structural integrity was an endemic problem there. But we are glad to see that City efforts have expanded beyond just the single complex of The Grove to cast a wider safety inquiry. The balcony collapse accident at The Grove apartments has motivated Denton, TX officials to take a stand for safe apartments for students and all renters.
Some questions remain regarding the permitting, oversight and inspections involved in the advent of The Grove apartment complex. These apartments seem to have gone up awfully quickly. And the non-weight bearing balconies just outside of pairs of 3rd floor doors seem to have maybe evaded close inspection scrutiny. But Denton, TX officials seem to understand the value of protecting the city from any further possible liability by taking affirmative steps to ensure that other such balconies throughout Denton can hold the weights that they look like they are intended to hold. The Denton, TX officials’ efforts may ensure fewer injuries and safe apartments for students going forward.
Denton, TX enjoys a rich and lively culture from its place as a center of North Texas higher education. In recognizing its need to ensure safe apartments for students, professors and the other apartment dwellers that the city attracts and who help sustain its rich culture, Denton, TX officials are taking positive steps to further the best interests of all City residents.
A campus news report mentions that The Grove may just represent the first wave in a future stream of hastily constructed student housing. By taking steps now, Denton, TX officials can help ensure that the second student housing wave will be more safely and securely constructed. And that the balcony collapse accident at The Grove apartments stands as an anomaly rather than a trend. Students should be housed, not hosed.