Carolyn Grant has lived at Pine Ridge for 26 years. She, alongside her neighbors in the apartment complex, is facing a rent hike that has already left some former residents homeless.
About 40 Pine Ridge residents hid from the sun under a shade tent on the black tarmac outside their community center Saturday morning. In front of an audience of city officials, the Alachua County Labor Coalition and a representative from KeyCity Capital, the complex’s new owners, residents aired their grievances about a notice asking some renters to vacate their homes within 30 days for renovations.
Residents said many of their homes need renovations, but they cannot afford a rent increase from about $525 to the $800 or $900 proposed by the management company.