Lawsuits filed centered around tenants rights
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Dozens were on hand at the Greene County Courthouse, announcing two lawsuits against current and previous owners of two housing properties.
'They filed two cases, a class action lawsuit that will try to maintain their affordable housing and a different lawsuit that seeks justice for those tenants who were illegally evicted from their properties,' Gina Chiala, the senior attorney and executive director at the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom said.
The first suit, Chiala says, is centered around what was once called 'Cedarwood Terrace' and 'Rosewood Estates' which was previously owned by Zimmerman Properties and Wilhoit Properties.
At those properties, they were affordable-housing focused for about two decades.
'These properties are governed by the LIHTC program, the low income housing tax credit program, and when you receive millions of dollars in tax credits from taxpayers, the owners are required to provide affordable housing and they're required to provide that housing for a certain period of time,' Chiala said. 'They're required to maintain affordable housing for 30 years. The prior owners, Zimmerman Properties and Wilhoit Properties opted out after 20 years. There is a loophole in the law that allows them to do that if they take certain steps that will keep that property affordable or at least try to keep it affordable. They did not follow those steps, and that's why this lawsuit has been brought. Zimmerman Properties and Wilhoit Properties sought to opt out of the LIHTC program in January of 2022. There's then a year waiting period after that. The tenants had no idea what was going on, and then in 2023 they were given permission to opt out. In 2023, they sold the property again without the tenants knowing.'
Chiala says the second suit is more focused on the new owners of the properties, GPS Property Management.
'The tenants didn't find out until spring of 2024 that that property had been sold and was slated for luxury apartments and that they were going to have to leave, and that was hugely unjust,' Chiala said.
Ozarks First drove to both properties to speak with an office manager or property owner but no one was present for comment.
Ozarks First also called Zimmerman/Wilhoit and went to their headquarters but was told our voicemail was being sent to someone who would get back to us but at the time this story was written, we have no received a response.
Another defendant in the suit is Bryan Properties, calling the company property managers for the newly purchased complexes.
Jami Johnson, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, says she is struggling to find affordable housing.
'I have absolutely no idea because I've looked and there's just nothing out there that's affordable and accessible,' Johnson said. 'I mean, it's hard enough finding something affordable, but you add in accessibility and people with need accessible housing generally move into a place and stay there.'
She says that's just a snapshot of a larger housing crisis in the Queen City.
'Springfield has a shortage of affordable, accessible housing and where am I going to live and what am I going to do,' Johnson adds. 'When we first found out that the property sold and that we were going to have to move, I started looking and there's no affordable, accessible housing available.'
Johnson says there's no ill will towards the previous and current property owners, she just wants to be home, a rate she can afford.
'I have no ill will toward them. I just ask them to do the right thing and let us stay. We've done nothing wrong and we're just asking to stay at a place that's affordable and accessible and our communities there and the people that I've lived near for over 17 years,' Johnson said.
Attempts for comment from the previous and current owners have not been returned.
Chiala says tenants have told her new units are hovering around the $1,200 monthly rent, whereas many tenants are used to rent payments around $500 a month.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
College athletics is about to change forever
Hello everyone, I'm Dan Lucy on the Ozarks First digital desk. Friday night a federal judge approved a $2.8 billion dollar settlement that paves the way for colleges to pay their student-athletes. Starting July first, the old college formula of amateur athletes getting scholarships and meal money is gone. This is all the result of grant house. Grant was a swimmer at Arizona State University who said athletes invest a lot of their time and bring a lot money to the university, and they ought to get a cut of that. He sued the NCAA. And after nearly five years of bickering, both sides agreed to a settlement. And Friday a federal judge approved the deal. Out of that $2.8 billion dollars, colleges and universities will be allowed to pay out as much as $20 million dollars a year to their student athletes. That means about 50 percent of the school's sports revenue will pay athletic salaries. A cut of that money will also pay former athletes who missed out on name, image and likeness money. Where will they get all of that money? They'll try to solicit donations from alumni. And some sports economists say they'll have to make some cuts to things like coaches' pay, facilities and maybe even non-revenue-bearing sports. Richard Paulsen/Michigan Sports Management Professor: 'Another place you might see cuts is Olympic sports…. And now if more money is going to the athletes and football, let's say, that's less money that can be used to cover, you know, scholarships and some of these other sports.' Because of this settlement, teams will have roster limits instead of scholarship limits. That means there may not be any room for walk-ons. Another concern, the big power conference schools will just get richer and bigger. And who decides how much the athletes will get paid? The plan is for the conferences and universities to set the pay scale. One of the biggest and powerful conferences is the Southeastern Conference. Mizzou and Arkansas are a part of that super conference. And SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reacted to the decision. And he says ultimately it'll be a good thing for college athletics. Greg Sankey/SEC commissioner (it's a good thing…but there will be growing pains) This settlement, and all the money involved was one of the driving forces that moved Missouri State from the Valley to Conference USA. We'll have to wait and see how this all pans out. One things for sure. The old days of college sports in the 50's and 60's is long gone. For more sports watch Ozarks First news at nine and ten. And I'll see you then. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Springfield residents give feedback on Sunshine Street corridor study
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — On Tuesday, June 3, residents were invited to voice their opinions on the Sunshine Street Corridor Study, between Kansas Expressway and Glenstone Avenue. The purpose of this plan is to analyze existing conditions and work with the public to help set the vision of the street and the surrounding neighborhoods. There are five for the study: Engagement, Safety, Revitalization, Place, and Balance Community Needs. The City of Springfield hopes that the feedback will help create a Sunshine Street that will: Balances mobility & local needs Prioritizes safety for everyone traveling on streets and sidewalks in the study area Guides improvements Supports neighborhood goals and vision defined in Forward SGF A presentation was given to attendees, providing more insight into the project and how their feedback will play a part in it. Afterwards, people could move freely around to board stations that provided more information on Sunshine, as well as sticky notes where they could pin their feedback. Why Midnight Rodeo is suddenly closing its longtime location 'This is kind of a unique approach the city is taking with multiple departments, with multiple disciplines coming together to look at not just the traffic and transportation corridor, but also looking at quality of life, quality of place and what it's really like to live in and around the area as well,' says Cora Scott, spokesperson for the City of Springfield. According to Scott, one of the main reasons for the study is to improve safety. 'It's becoming more heavily trafficked in. Also we're having more crashes, particularly at access areas as people in and out of driveways and such along that corridor,' Scott said. 'So that's the number one reason to look at what could be some infrastructure improvements to help with that. Not necessarily to constantly speed up traffic, but just to make it safer for people, pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers along the route.' Ozarks First spoke to some Springfield residents attending the event who expressed their own opinions on the project. 'I'm hopeful that this is going to go the right way and I plan to be part of it to try to ensure that it is steered in the right way,' said Donell Dunbar about the project, 'I live in University Heights neighborhood, which is kind of known as a contested neighborhood. And I want this to go right because it's on our doorstep and we need it to go right for the city as well to preserve the history that we have and to provide a very welcoming place for visitors, residents, everyone who comes to our city.' Dunbar believes that older buildings should be torn down to make way for new ones. 'I would like to see the vacant businesses addressed. Let's tear them down and build something more useful. If they're not going to be used before we start tearing historical homes down, for instance.' Springfield schools raises 67,000 meals in Ozarks Food Harvest competition For Rick and Sally Keen, the biggest issue is traffic. 'There's too many cars going in and out on Sunshine Street, 'said Sally Keen. 'I think it'd be nice if they had alleys behind the building of some sort.' 'Something needs to be done for the traffic, the speeders. And that's a major problem, especially late at night shifts,' added Rick Keen. Scott states that there will be at least 'two to three more times to engage' with residents in the future, saying the next survey will include a design charrette, where the designers will sit at tables and the public can discuss further details on the project. A completed plan for the project is expected to be finished in early 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Sunshine Corridor study on display at town hall
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Springfield residents will get a first look at some results of a months-long corridor study of Sunshine, from Glenstone out west to Kansas Expressway. The study carries a price tag of $702,000, but around $217,000 of that comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, and $485,000 of the effort is funded by the city's 1/4-cent capital improvement sales tax. The study revealed five goals of the project overall: Engagement, Safety, Revitalization, Place, and trying to balance the needs of those in the community, like drivers, businesses and those who live nearby. Ozarks First drove to several businesses along Sunshine Street, asking what some owners want to see done with the project. Levi Grant, owner of The Big Slice Pizza, which has been on Sunshine for nearly 12 years, says safety is the biggest issue. 'There's constantly wrecks outside. Obviously, there's a lot of traffic down there. People drive down the middle or around middle lane, often we see traffic back up, back past us quite a bit from Glenstone, actually. You know, it goes both directions,' Grant said. 'It's nearly impossible to go left, out of the parking lot. You have to usually have to wait it out a good couple of minutes or I go right along and go down Delaware and turn around.' His suggestion would be to better time traffic lights to reduce traffic. 'I'd say try to get, let's get lights synced up could help a bit drastically here. There's not a whole lot they could do about widening everything just because we don't have a whole lot of room here. It's just going to have to sync everything together to make everything change at the same time,' Grant said. '[The project] will probably have its ups and downs. Every time they do construction site on the side, it will dramatically affect [businesses here], and you can't even get into a lot of these businesses when they shut down the lanes that would resurface and stuff like that.' On the west side of Sunshine, Kyndall Martin with Sunshine Lanes also says safety is the biggest issue. 'The traffic down at this Kansas/Sunshine intersection; it's brutal. I'd like to say most of it's probably just bad drivers. I hate to say that, but there's countless wrecks. I leave here all the time, and there's always some sort of wreck,' Martin said. 'I feel like when going down sunshine, people don't pay attention. Traffic's always backed up and then you start heading farther east towards like the hospitals and Mercy and all the way down to like Glenstone, you know, it's all backed up, but I think Sunshine is one of the most iconic streets in town personally, and I think there's a lot of good that come with trying to make Sunshine better.' He suggests the city not only improve the roadway, but also invest in local options for stores or food. 'I think the cornerstone is getting local people and bringing local businesses. I mean, everybody loves it. You know, Buffalo Wild Wings or, you know, P.F. Chang's as big, cool places. They want to see them in town, but some of the best places in town personally are the local places,' Martin said. 'If we're trying to revitalize some of these areas that are starting to get a little rundown to encourage somehow small businesses in Springfield to fill those spaces.' The final plans are expected to be announced by early 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
