Tenants protest relocation process as eviction date looms. Mayor warns developers
Six years ago, Mike Wallace’s wife died of breast cancer. He wanted to hold a memorial in a local park until he realized the fees were too expensive.
Then, standing in the courtyard of their home at the Ridenbaugh Place Apartments — at the southwest corner of West Boise Avenue and South Protest Road — Wallace said he felt Karen Wallace, who died at age 60, trying to tell him something.
“She said, ‘Hey, dummy, look around,’” Wallace said. “This is the place she loved.”
More than 350 people attended Karen’s memorial in the Ridenbaugh courtyard.
On Wednesday afternoon, Wallace once again stood in the courtyard in mourning. He has lived at Ridenbaugh for nearly 20 years, and he said he was devastated when he was told the apartment complex would be demolished to make room for new luxury student apartments and a parking lot.
“This feels like another death,” Wallace said to the crowd. “This feels like a funeral.”
In March, Subtext, the St. Louis-based company formerly known as Collegiate Development Group, won approval for its new project on 3.3 acres after revising its previously rejected larger proposal. The development would be made up of 175 apartments with 547 total bedrooms, largely targeted at Boise State students and young professionals.
It was a blow for the tenants of the 25 affordable apartments at Ridenbaugh. Most would not be able to afford the new luxury units. Rent is currently $1,095 for a two-bedroom at the Ridenbaugh Place Apartments .
The City Council approved the project after Subtext leaders said they would assist Ridenbaugh’s residents to make their transition to other housing easier.
“We are going to be relocating tenants, who consider this property and these units home,” Brandt Stiles, CEO of Subtext, said at a March 30 Boise City Council meeting. “We understand the sensitivity around that and we worked with these tenants to develop a tenant assistance package to help lessen the burden of them finding a new apartment. Tenants recently reached out to us after our proposal and asked for some additional items, and we agreed to all of those items.”
The assistance was to include professional relocation search help, a $4,000 relocation package for one-bedroom residents, a $5,500 package for two-bedrooms residents, and an additional $1,200 if residents had to move more than 5 miles away. Ten units at a lower rate were to be set aside for residents who wished to return once the project was completed.
According to some residents of Ridenbaugh and their advocates, none of that has materialized. Some residents said they have not gotten money, the help they received was not of the professional quality they were expecting and they have not been given priority places in affordable future units. Intermountain Fair Housing Council investigator said residents had difficulty reaching Subtext to discuss these issues.
On Sept. 16, the nonprofit Intermountain Fair Housing Council sent a letter to Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, City Attorney Jayme Sullivan and Deputy Planning Director Cody Riddle saying that Subtext had “failed to honor its agreements to tenants.” A day later, Subtext sent a letter to Ridenbaugh residents in which the company outlined the relocation plan to tenants. Some tenants said it was the first time they saw the complete plan.
Residents said they were told there would be a “cash for key” agreement, leaving them no time to use their relocation package to help obtain a new apartment before they have to vacate Ridenbaugh.
Subtext remains “extremely proud of this relocation package”
Subtext disagrees with the protesters’ description. Company leaders say they continue to believe in the importance of this package. According to Subtext, the problem lies in tenants not engaging with them, not the other way around.
“We have strived to be responsive and flexible with everyone who has chosen to engage with us,” the company said Thursday in an email to the Idaho Statesman. “We have worked, and continue to work, with the tenants on a daily basis to help them find a suitable new home. For those who have, we have seen excellent outcomes. We hope everyone at Ridenbaugh continues to work with us so that each tenant can receive similar benefits.”
According to Subtext, the plan always involved a “cash to key” exchange, and the company still plans to provide tenants the opportunity to receive lower-priced apartments at a later date.
“We have issued relocation payments to tenants as promised, including providing early payments to help tenants with other moving expenses,” the company said. “Some tenants have even received additional funds ($1,200) when they reported to have moved more than 5 miles from the Ridenbaugh location. Every single tenant who has not already received it is either in line to receive the lump sums upon vacating the property or is still eligible to receive them when they do vacate.”
Boise Renters United works for tenants
Residents, Vanishing Boise and Boise Renters United, a renter-led action group that fights for tenants’ rights and affordable housing, protested the way the agreement was executed on Wednesday in the courtyard. Speakers took turns at the microphone as people waved signs around them. Some residents said they were afraid they’d never receive the promised compensation.
“The tenants that remain are the ones that have low or fixed incomes, no social safety network, and additional barriers (language, disabilities, etc.),” Lori DiCaire, Intermountain Fair Housing Council investigator and founder of Boise Renters United and Vanishing Boise, wrote in an email to the Statesman.
Less than an hour after the protest’s designated starting time, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean issued a news release announcing that the city would “not issue any permits or allow the developer to move forward with the project without the Tenant Assistance Package in place.”
“The developer should do right by the current residents who need the support they were promised to move into new homes,” McLean said in her statement. “... We’re committed to making sure residents get what they were promised as part of the approval of this project.”
As of now, the final tenants are still scheduled to be evicted on Wednesday, Oct. 20. Many said they delayed searching for a new place as they waited for the relocation package to materialize. About 14 residents are still there. Subtext said six people have not found a new home yet.
Wallace, who said he will sleep on his son’s couch until he can find a new place, said the natural beauty of the Ridenbaugh area is one of the things he will miss most. He pointed to a large oak tree in the corner of the courtyard, saying he always wondered how old it is and guessed “more than a 100 years.”
“In two weeks, they’ll cut it down,” Wallace said. “Then we can count the rings and find out.”
Sally Krutzig covers Treasure Valley growth and development. Have a story suggestion or a question? Email Krutzig at skrutzig@idahostatesman.com.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 10:30 AM.
