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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Courtyard Village Apartments displacement speeds up

Residents say they are being pushed out sooner than expected from complex now called Parc Central

By , Columbian staff writer
Published:
2 Photos
Courtyard Village Apartments is now Parc Central.
Courtyard Village Apartments is now Parc Central. Photo Gallery

Affordable Housing Task Force

Courtyard Village was the catalyst when the Vancouver City Council decided in February to dig into the problem of affordable housing. Could the city pass laws to protect the most vulnerable renters from displacement? Could the city provide greater incentives for developers to build more truly affordable rental housing?

Mayor Tim Leavitt will lead an Affordable Housing Task Force that will grapple with these issues. The group will get its membership and marching orders finalized during a Vancouver City Council workshop set for 5:30 to 6 p.m. today in the council chambers at City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St.

After that, the group will meet from 9 to 11 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month, May through December, in the Aspen Room at City Hall, according to community development manager Peggy Sheehan. All meetings are open to the public, and there will be some opportunities for public comment, she said.

The first meeting will be on May 14. Another city council workshop will be scheduled in August, when it’s expected that the task force will make recommendations regarding tenant protections. It will continue working on developer incentives until the end of the year, Sheehan said.

Affordable Housing Task Force

Courtyard Village was the catalyst when the Vancouver City Council decided in February to dig into the problem of affordable housing. Could the city pass laws to protect the most vulnerable renters from displacement? Could the city provide greater incentives for developers to build more truly affordable rental housing?

Mayor Tim Leavitt will lead an Affordable Housing Task Force that will grapple with these issues. The group will get its membership and marching orders finalized during a Vancouver City Council workshop set for 5:30 to 6 p.m. today in the council chambers at City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St.

After that, the group will meet from 9 to 11 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month, May through December, in the Aspen Room at City Hall, according to community development manager Peggy Sheehan. All meetings are open to the public, and there will be some opportunities for public comment, she said.

The first meeting will be on May 14. Another city council workshop will be scheduled in August, when it's expected that the task force will make recommendations regarding tenant protections. It will continue working on developer incentives until the end of the year, Sheehan said.

The task force members are:

&#8226; Tim Leavitt, mayor of Vancouver, chairman

&#8226; Lyn Ayers and Blain Cowley, Clark County Rental Association

&#8226; Sierk Braam, Norris Beggs & Simpson

&#8226; Fred Dockweiler, Key Bank

&#8226; Debby Dover, Second Step Housing

&#8226; Marc Fazio and Richard Keller, Vancouver City Center Redevelopment Authority

&#8226; Jack Harroun, Building Industries Association

&#8226; James Howsley, Jordam Ramis PC

&#8226; Troy Johns, Urban NW Homes

&#8226; Roy Johnson, Vancouver Housing Authority

&#8226; Mark Maggiora, Americans Building Community

&#8226; Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver City council member

&#8226; Javier Navaro, State Farm Insurance

&#8226; Josh Oliva, HSP Properties

&#8226; Denny Scott, St. Andrews Lutheran Church

&#8226; Andy Silver, Council for the Homeless

&#8226; Axel Swanson, Clark County senior policy adviser

&#8226; Alishia Topper. Vancouver City council member

&#8226; Dan Valliere, REACH

&#8226; Vancouver Planning Commission member (still undetermined)

The facilitator will be Anne Pressentin of Enviroissues, a public-process consultant.

&#8212;Scott Hewitt

The task force members are:

• Tim Leavitt, mayor of Vancouver, chairman

• Lyn Ayers and Blain Cowley, Clark County Rental Association

• Sierk Braam, Norris Beggs & Simpson

• Fred Dockweiler, Key Bank

• Debby Dover, Second Step Housing

• Marc Fazio and Richard Keller, Vancouver City Center Redevelopment Authority

• Jack Harroun, Building Industries Association

• James Howsley, Jordam Ramis PC

• Troy Johns, Urban NW Homes

• Roy Johnson, Vancouver Housing Authority

• Mark Maggiora, Americans Building Community

• Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver City council member

• Javier Navaro, State Farm Insurance

• Josh Oliva, HSP Properties

• Denny Scott, St. Andrews Lutheran Church

• Andy Silver, Council for the Homeless

• Axel Swanson, Clark County senior policy adviser

• Alishia Topper. Vancouver City council member

• Dan Valliere, REACH

• Vancouver Planning Commission member (still undetermined)

The facilitator will be Anne Pressentin of Enviroissues, a public-process consultant.

—Scott Hewitt

Upcoming Meetings

When news reached Carla Feltz, Washington Elementary School’s Family-Community Resource Center coordinator, that the renovation schedule at Parc Central had accelerated — pushing more current tenants to get out sooner — she decided to accelerate by one month a “mass intake” meeting where all remaining residents can sign up with relevant social service agencies.

Chief among these is the Council for the Homeless, which has amassed a community fund to help people pay some of the extra costs associated with moving. Also on hand will be other housing and community health agencies as well as some local churches that have been supportive.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. May 6 at Washington Elementary, 2908 S St. The First United Methodist Church will provide a free dinner for all. The school — and Feltz’ office — will close for the summer on June 16.

—Scott Hewitt

The Courtyard Village Apartments are now Parc Central. Teachers at Washington Elementary School dislike the new name — partially because it’s teaching children to misspell, according to Carla Feltz, the school’s Family-Community Resource Center coordinator. (The Columbian checked several dictionaries; there is no English-language word spelled “parc.”)

They hate it more because it represents all the displacement that’s occurred and is still occurring at the large, low-income apartment complex, Feltz said.

That displacement is speeding up, Feltz and several residents said. Previously, tenants had been told that two buildings per month would get 20-day notices to vacate through June, when residents of the last three buildings would get their notices to leave by the end of that month.

But three buildings got notices to vacate in early April and four more will get them in early May, they’ve heard more recently. So the last remaining residents will have to be gone a month earlier than they’d been led to believe, Feltz said. “There are a lot of pretty upset people,” she added.

Whatever its name, the 151-unit complex in Rose Village started making headlines in early December. That’s when the new landlord, Metropolitan Land Group of Beaverton, Ore., and the new property manager, Madrona Ridge Residential of Seattle, started distributing those 20-day notices to vacate, building by building, in advance of renovations and raised rents. Anybody who wanted to stay would have to reapply at the higher price.

The move, while legal, was widely criticized as heartless. After those notices first went out, Metropolitan Land Group softened the blow somewhat by allowing residents to apply for two-week extensions. Extensions are no longer being offered, Feltz said.

Metropolitan Land Group has said little about the matter beyond a statement that was issued in December: “We purchased The Courtyard apartments in November with the goal of renovating as quickly as possible. When these improvements are complete, the apartments will provide a much safer, cleaner and healthier place for Vancouver families to live. We are sensitive to the fact that the renovation process creates uncertainty for current tenants as they seek new places to live and are aware that there are community-based services involved to help with any issues related to this transition. We intend to work with tenants on a case-by-case basis to assist with issues as they secure new housing options. We apologize for this disruption, but ultimately the improvements we are making will create better, safer housing for families in the Vancouver community.”

Last wave

Feltz, whose office has been a point of first contact for all displaced residents — whether or not they have children in the school — has been struck recently by the number of elderly and “severely disabled” people who seem to be absolutely out of options. There’s no way they’re going to magically boost their incomes and be able to stay, she said. Some are developmentally delayed and don’t understand what’s going on, she added.

But even families who are working may not fare much better at this point, she said.

“Most families who are there now won’t qualify to stay even if they have good credit and good records — just because they can’t afford it,” Feltz said.

The very highest rent at Courtyard Village used to be $875, a former property management staff member told The Columbian in early December. Now, according to the Parc Central website, the lowest rest is $895 for a 500-square-foot, single-bedroom unit; the highest is $1,225 for a 1,600-square-foot, four-bedroom unit.

Feltz is also afraid that meager local affordable apartment options have already been flooded with Parc Central refugees. By the time the “last wave” has to leave on May 30, she fears, nothing will be left for them.

“I think we’re running out. I’m hearing it’s a problem,” Feltz said. One young, capable mom confidently went apartment hunting but returned to tell Feltz: “I didn’t think I needed help, but I do.”

Feltz said she knows of a handful of folks who are already supposed to be gone but have simply refused to move. If and when the landlord turns to law enforcement to eject them, she said, they’ll wind up with evictions on their records. That almost guarantees that future landlords will turn them down.

“It looks like the most vulnerable will be impacted the worst,” she said. “I am really worried about them.”

A new home

But Deborah Roberts, who is severely disabled with epilepsy, benign brain tumors and a deteriorating spine and other problems, is looking forward to not having to worry anymore. She and her husband, Roy Stinebaugh, managed to find a new unit, and they’ll move before the end of this month.

Roberts and Stinebaugh recounted a long list of maintenance issues that were never addressed despite numerous complaints. The couple claimed there was no heat but lots of mold in their apartment this past winter despite promises from staff to address the issues. They stayed warm by running their stovetop. Roberts added that she badly bruised her knee recently by falling down some exterior stairs after a doorway light she’d complained about never got fixed.

Upcoming Meetings

When news reached Carla Feltz, Washington Elementary School's Family-Community Resource Center coordinator, that the renovation schedule at Parc Central had accelerated &#8212; pushing more current tenants to get out sooner &#8212; she decided to accelerate by one month a "mass intake" meeting where all remaining residents can sign up with relevant social service agencies.

Chief among these is the Council for the Homeless, which has amassed a community fund to help people pay some of the extra costs associated with moving. Also on hand will be other housing and community health agencies as well as some local churches that have been supportive.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. May 6 at Washington Elementary, 2908 S St. The First United Methodist Church will provide a free dinner for all. The school &#8212; and Feltz' office &#8212; will close for the summer on June 16.

&#8212;Scott Hewitt

Madrona Ridge Residential did not respond to a call from The Columbian. When you click on the new Parc Central Web page link for resident maintenance requests, what pops up is a page that says it’s for residents of “Sonora Canyon” only. That’s a Madrona Ridge property in Mesa, Ariz., according to the site.

Roberts and Stinebaugh said they’re headed to Fruit Valley Commons, a small public housing complex owned by the Vancouver Housing Authority. Their rent will rise from $575 to $690, which they’ll “barely” be able to afford without finding a roommate, Stinebaugh said. But they’re looking forward to the change regardless, they said.

When the couple arrived at Courtyard Village in early 2013, they said, they had nothing but backpacks, bedrolls and a little one-time cash assistance from nonprofit agency Share. They were grateful for the apartment, the money and everything else generous people and agencies gave them, they said.

In the two years since, the complex and its clientele have deteriorated badly, they said.

“This used to be heaven. Now it’s hell,” Roberts said.

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