A sprinkler discharged Saturday night on the fourth floor of Gregory College House’s Class of 1925 building, flooding rooms and displacing residents.
The cleanup will involve several days of drying and repairs, according to an email sent to residents. During the process, students whose rooms were flooded will be able to collect their belongings and live in temporary accommodations, including the Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we work to resolve this,” an Oct. 3 email read.
A request for comment was left with Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services.
“Since you are currently displaced, we recommend that you continue residing in your temporary accommodations until you are notified to return to your suite,” one message to an affected student read. “In the meantime, you are welcome to stop by your room at any time to retrieve personal belongings or check on the progress of the work being completed in your space.”
Impacted students who need temporary accommodations can visit Gregory College House’s Information Center to request assistance.
The Sheraton completed a $60 million renovation in June. The hotel has served as temporary lodging for displaced students during previous housing incidents, including a 2023 fire in Riepe College House of the Quad and several floods in January 2024.
Property restoration company BELFOR is drying the rooms, according to the message. Affected residents who choose to stay in their rooms have been asked to leave the drying equipment on as long as possible.
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“If you need to turn it off to sleep, please turn it back on when you wake up,” the email read. “Turning off equipment will slow the drying and repair process.”
FRES will complete any necessary repairs after the rooms are dried.
Residents with damaged linens should “attempt to launder the items first to restore them before determining that replacement is needed,” according to the email. For other damaged property, they can file a claim with Sedgwick, the University’s risk management contractor.
Harnwell College House was evacuated in February when alarms went off and water leaked from the lobby’s ceiling, which was also attributed to sprinkler discharge. Students began reentering the building later that day. Last October, a broken hot water line in Riepe College House’s Cleeman building caused flooding damage to seven rooms, displacing three students.
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Senior reporter James Wan leads administration reporting and can be reached at wan@thedp.com. At Penn, he studies communication and computer science. Follow him on X @JamesWan__.
