One elevator at The Portland is back in service after residents raised concerns about being stuck for days. The second is expected to be repaired this week.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One of two elevators at The Portland apartments is back in service after residents spoke out to 10 Tampa Bay News about being stranded for days in the 13-story building.

Residents had been dealing with the outage since early last week, forcing some to climb more than a dozen flights of stairs to reach their homes. Greg Wasmund, who lives on the 12th floor, said residents began noticing changes shortly after sharing their concerns publicly.

“They gave us all a $75 Publix gift card, which was nice, but I thought, ‘Well that’s interesting,’” Wasmund said.

He said the gesture was appreciated, but more importantly, repairs soon followed.

“The fact that you put me on the news, I’m sure helped,” he said.

By Sunday, one of the building’s two elevators was back up and running. In a statement, The Portland said staff also conducted in-person wellness checks, visiting each unit to connect with residents, address concerns and assist with immediate needs.

“We remain actively engaged on-site and will continue to provide updates as progress continues,” the statement said.

Emanuel Williams, another resident, said the situation had been frustrating, especially the lack of communication.

“If we didn’t say anything, it would’ve probably been two weeks before we heard anything,” Williams said.

He said the outage created serious challenges for some residents, including those with mobility issues.

“I saw one of our neighbors who had her knees replaced trying to lumber up the stairs. That’s not right. That’s not fair,” Williams said.

Now, with repairs underway, residents say they are beginning to feel some relief.

“It made me more relieved that things were getting done and things were happening,” Williams said.

Still, Wasmund said he believes the response could have come sooner.

“I feel like it could’ve done quicker and better and more communication,” he said.

The second elevator is expected to be back in service sometime this week.