University Park Alliance — the once strong neighborhood redevelopment group that’s been embroiled in a lawsuit for more than three years — is getting out of the rental business.
The organization’s lack of money also means it could be open to foreclosure on its 65 properties, most of which are vacant and all of which are delinquent on property taxes owed to the county.
“Unfortunately, UPA does not have the resources to continue to operate and maintain rental housing, so it is necessary to provide these formal notices,” said David James, Akron Public Schools superintendent and chairman of UPA.
The lawsuit against UPA for breach of contract and other claims by a former land partner is still pending, James said.
“UPA really has no current plans and no pathway forward until we come to a resolution on that litigation,” James said.
UPA no longer has its one staffer or a maintenance person hired to help with the properties.
Letters were mailed Tuesday to 17 tenants at properties owned by UPA in Akron. In the letters, the 14 tenants on month-to-month leases were notified that their leases will be terminated in 60 days on Sept. 30. For the three tenants who are on term leases that end in November or February, their leases will end at that time.
“We understand that moving is difficult, which is why we are providing this extended notice to our tenants,” James said. “We also contacted area social service agencies that may be able to offer assistance in connection with their move, and provided a flier containing contact information for those agencies.”
Min Tin Oo and his sister have rented a unit in a house on Excelsior Avenue for eight years.
When told on Tuesday that his month-to-month lease would be terminated in 60 days, Tin Oo said he was already trying to buy a house.
“I have to rush a little bit to find a house,” he said. “If somebody can help me, I’d really appreciate it.
“It’s OK, it happens,” said Tin Oo, who works at the Mogadore Rubbermaid plant.
But 70-year-old Walt Woods didn’t take the news as well.
“I’ve been worrying about this day for the longest time,” Woods said. “I have no idea where to go.”
Woods said because of his health issues, he will need to find a new place to live on a ground floor.
Woods said he has rented two different units in a house on Excelsior since 2000, and the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. It has improved in recent years, he said.
The city of Akron is trying to help ensure all the affected residents will have a place to live, said James Hardy, chief of staff to Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan.
“Our No. 1 priority at the city is we are gathering the social service agencies so that no one — and I mean no one — is left behind and hopefully lands in a better place,” Hardy said.
Hardy said housing counselors will visit each affected tenant next week to help them find other options. None of the UPA tenants are on any type of subsidies, but housing counselors will see if any could be eligible, Hardy said. If any of the residents are age 60 or over, they may be eligible for some help.
UPA has notified the city that any residents who made security deposits will receive them back, he said.
UPA ran into trouble when its executive director resigned in April 2013 and its major supporter, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, canceled a $6 million grant and $1.8 million loan, saying months of inconsistencies and changes in planned projects made them no longer feasible.
Its members were top leaders in Akron’s government, civic and business organizations who united to transform the area around the University of Akron into a thriving, self-sustaining residential, commercial and high-tech hub. Many of those leaders, however, are gone after retiring or leaving their posts.
UPA still owes the city of Akron, which is among its partners, $600,000 from a guaranteed loan City Council approved in 2013 to the then-struggling nonprofit to pay loans for rental and investment properties.
Some of the affected rental properties are among those using the city’s loan, James said. He said he was unsure if at some point, those would fall back to the city, via foreclosure.
Hardy said the city is not interested in being the landlord. He acknowledged that the city “has been trying to assist wherever possible” with the properties, but the city is not in a position to maintain the properties full time.
Hardy declined to comment when asked whether the city would foreclose on the properties, citing the pending litigation.
The Summit County Fiscal Office could also foreclose on all 65 properties.
According to county records, UPA is now delinquent on nearly $175,000 in Summit County property taxes for its properties, some since 2013.
The county, regardless of land ownership, has the first option of foreclosure on delinquent properties.
“We would have to be treated like any other property owner,” said James, the UPA chair. “That’s the law.”
Last month, Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise said it is not her agency’s policy to foreclose on properties involved in pending litigation. She reiterated that stance Tuesday through a spokesman.
The possibility still remains that at least four of the UPA’s 65 properties could be acquired and demolished.
Patrick Bravo, executive director of the Summit County Land Bank, last month said he was in discussions to take four of the properties that are not involved in the litigation.
If the land bank takes the properties in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure for the county, it could help stabilize the neighborhoods by turning the land over to a community group for public use, such as community gardens, or selling it at a significantly reduced cost to the adjoining neighbor.
On Tuesday, Bravo confirmed that the land bank remains interested in the four properties and “would be willing to evaluate any additional properties that are identified.”
Owners of houses next to UPA-owned houses on Excelsior said they are saddened that their neighbors will have to leave.
Dawn Berghone, who lives across the street from Tin Oo, said she wants to see houses saved or sold — perhaps to some of the renters — so people can move in.
“We watch out for each other. They’re getting rid of the good ones,” she said. “It’d be nice to have a community of thriving families.”
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty