But there they were Thursday, looking at spending another night flooded out of their homes.
Displaced residents from Center City One learned Thursday night that fire officials will inform them in the morning whether they'll be allowed to reoccupy their condos.
The group is expected to meet with fire officials at 11:00 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel to get the word.
"It's been hard because I can't really go to work, I can't leave her in the hotel," said condo owner Meghan Berry.
Meghan and her dog Sydney have spent the past two nights in a hotel room and will also be spending tonight there.
She and hundreds of other residents were forced out of their homes when the building's firefighting water supply pipes exploded.
"There was high pressure in the standpipe system, which actually ruptured two sections of pipe in two areas of the building," said General Manager Christopher Aversa.
Condos on several floors were flooded out. The deluge also knocked out the elevators.
Crews worked Thursday to repair the damage, getting one of the elevators running. That allowed residents a chance to retrieve some belongings.
"As long as I can go in and get my stuff," said Meghan Berry. "That's been the hardest part because we haven't had anything, so I've had to just buy what we need."
It's been a frustrating couple of days, but most residents appear to be taking it in stride.
"It's a very tight-knit community in this building," said Aaron Stemplewicz. "So everybody, for the most part they're taking it in stride and willing to help other people, especially there's a lot of older folks who live here."
They had hoped to return to their homes Wednesday night. Now, they're being told they won't be allowed back until sometime Friday.
Crews are ventilating the building trying to get it dried out while repairs to the standpipe continue.
"All of the standing water has been removed from the building," said Jeff Jacobs of the Homeowner's Association. "So now it's a drying process, getting the water out of the carpets, out the walls. And then we'll have some time to look and see what needs to be replaced."
So it's another night at the hotel for the residents. And here's something that was inevitable: Where there's a flood, the sharks start circling. One of the residents filed a class action lawsuit Thursday.
