A community protest is planned for this afternoon to show support for senior citizens living at Cross Street Villagein Ypsilanti. This is an emotional situation impacting affordable housing for local seniors.
Even though the owners of Cross Street Village had pledged to maintain affordable senior housing at the old Ypsilanti High School for a period of 99 years, they now say they can’t.
20 years after that agreement was made, the operators contend they are not making enough money to maintain operations. That’s prompted fear and concern among many of the residents in the complex that they’ll be priced out of their homes.
The owners could possibly look for a new buyer for Cross Street Village and switch to “market rates,” which would increase the cost of rent.
Andrew Maniotes is helping several Ypsilanti City Councilmembers organize today’s rally.
"We are hoping that Krueger Realty takes a hard look at this, and that it's not about profit."
Maniotes has helped residents at Cross Street Village create protest signs for today’s rally and said many are angered by what is happening and are ready to fight for affordable housing for seniors.
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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
