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Surge of students displaced by hurricane filling up Knoxville apartments

Ross University students have flooded into the Knoxville housing market, filling apartment complexes quickly.

More than 1,500 university students displaced by Hurricane Maria are finding new places to call home in Knoxville.

As a result, apartment complexes around town are quickly filling up.

Lincoln Memorial University welcomed medical students from Ross University School of Medicine after the storm destroyed the Ross campus on the Carribbean island of Dominica.

Ross student Nicholas Waldecker has been through it since the start--he survived the hurricane and has now moved to Knoxville.

"Our campus, Ross University, took significant damage," Waldecker said. "I think 90 percent of it took damage."

Ross University School of Medicine

He says he's thankful to be here, but finding housing was a struggle.

"We are indeed making it through," he said.

The illuminated sign of Candlewood Suites at Turkey Creek is home for Waldecker for now.

"This isn't easy at all," Waldecker said. "It's 2,000 students having to be relocated."

He chose to stay in a hotel because apartments in Knoxville that fit his temporary housing situation were hard to find.

"I did look around," Waldecker said. "At the end of the day, it was cost effectiveness."

Elevation Knoxville is one of those apartment complexes that is packed with the surge of students.

"It was pretty hectic at first, just because there were so many students from Ross," Emily Welling, assistant community director at Elevation Knoxville, said.

Elevation Knoxville near Papermill Road was one apartment complex that saw a huge surge in tenants from Ross University.

She said they almost tripled their traffic.

"Around 50 to 60 (calls) a day--that was over the course of a month, we were receiving that many," Welling said.

It filled up dozens of empty apartments in just weeks.

"Hopefully it's good word of mouth, we try to make every resident's experience as nice as possible, so even when they move out after four months, they can tell people about us and leave a positive review," she said.

Giving Waldecker and his classmates a chance to make Knoxville a great temporary home.

"This semester we were thankfully welcomed by LMU who took us in," Waldecker said.

The Ross University students and faculty began classes in Knoxville this week.

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