Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
They were promised time to move out before their apartments would be demolished, but they didn't get the promise in writing. Now, 21 households are facing eviction.
The tenants remaining at Clearview Apartments, a low-density, low-cost housing complex north of West Bay Street, were granted an extension to move out by Dec. 31, after initially being given 60 days (vacate by Oct. 31). The apartments will be razed to make way for senior and workforce housing, according to one of the property's developers, Sylvester Formey.
The City of Savannah confirmed the extended move-out date in October, which Mayor Van Johnson repeated to the Savannah Morning News. Then on Nov. 11, tenants were served with dispossessory warrants ordering them to vacate the premises by Nov. 29, according to a copy of the warrant obtained by the Savannah Morning News and Chatham County Magistrate Court records.
City spokesperson Nick Zoller said staff has already helped relocate one family to new housing through Family Promise of the Coastal Empire, a nonprofit, with four more families moving into new housing Dec. 1.
“The City of Savannah and the developer mutually agreed to a deadline of Dec. 31, 2021 for residents in the Clearview Housing Development to relocate to alternate housing," read Zoller's emailed statement from the city.
"We are continuing to work with another eight households and look forward to the cooperation of the developer throughout the month of December. New workforce housing on the Clearview site will be a positive benefit in the future.”
Cardinal Capital Management, the developer and owner of the property, filed the lawsuits. Keith Berry, the attorney for Cardinal Capital, said he was not authorized to provide insight into the lawsuits beyond, "No comment."
There were roughly 90 people left at Clearview when the original move-out notices were posted to front doors in August. The apartment has been home for many tenants for decades and is one of the last organically low-cost rental complexes left in the city, with rents capped at $700 a month. The city approved a redevelopment for the site in 2019, so tenants knew the day would come when they would have to move out; they just expected more than 60 days' notice.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
And while some of the last tenants have already moved out, a dispossessory warrant is permanent, whether the eviction goes through or not. An eviction, or even a dispossessory warrant, can be a "black stain" on a renter's record, hindering him or her from renting in the future. An eviction filing can only be removed by a judge.
Residents who shared their warrants with the paper did not wish to speak on the record, for fear of retaliation by the developers, who plan to build 307 affordable housing units on the site.
While low-cost housing is needed in Savannah to combat rising rent prices and fill in the low stock of affordable rental units, the issue of those left at Clearview is now: "There's nowhere to go," Natiema Challenger said when initially interviewed in October. "Nothing."
Zoe covers growth and how it impacts communities in the Savannah area. Find her at znicholson@gannett.com, @zoenicholson_ on Twitter, and @zoenicholsonreporter on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: After promising move-out extension, Clearview developer hits tenants with eviction notice
