Although residents are living there, the building has a long way to go.

“It’s annoying,” advertising junior and St. Anne Lofts resident Brian Kim said. “We didn’t expect that; we thought (the construction) would be done.”

The building was issued a temporary certificate of occupancy, and on Aug. 24, tenants were allowed to move in to the space. But a permanent certificate of occupancy is hanging in the balance — if the building is deemed unsafe by city officials, tenants will be forced to move out.

At the Sept. 4 council meeting, City Attorney Tom Yeadon said a negative review could mean tenants have to move out — just a month after their leases began.

“Temporary certificates of occupancy are actually fairly common; they determine that a portion of the building can be used,” Yeadon said. “But the actual (permanent) certificate of occupancy can’t be issued under the code until it’s official that the building has been constructed in conformity of … the state construction code.”

Structural problems have raised questions about the building’s stability from both the city council and residents during the span of its construction. But MSU expert on concrete and steel structural systems Venkatesh Kodur assured as long as the city has gone through extensive safety checks, the building should be safe for tenants.

“Obviously, they have to make sure it meets all the safety standard; that’s critical,” Kodur said. “If they improve (the outstanding issues), then the city has to approve it. Other than that, I don’t think there should be problems.”

Director of Planning and Community Development Tim Dempsey said the city has received reports drafted by city construction regarding foundation structure, as well as one report on the special inspections done on the building. The city is waiting for the reports on the soil surrounding the structure, as well as the concrete steel testing of the elevator slab, which are to be done Friday, Dempsey said.

Until the review of these reports is deemed sufficient by the city, with help from the C2AE engineering firm, a permanent certificate will not be issued, Dempsey said.

“If we need additional time to review those, we’ll suspend the temporary certificate of occupancy,” Dempsey said. “If we can sufficiently review them tomorrow and everything meets the requirements … we can issue the permanent certificate of occupancy for the residential portion.”