In Maplewood, New Car Dealership Means Losing Homes

A Mini Cooper dealership's move from Clayton to Maplewood may spell success for local business, but the development is forcing many midde-to-lower income residents to vacate their rental homes.

The Maplewood City Council gave preliminary approval on April 12 to rezone southeast of Hanley and Manchester roads that are owned by Sunnen Products Company. Although the city will gain a new business—the only Mini Cooper dealership in the state—the developments may come at a high cost to residents living in that area.

The rezoned acreage is home to people living in dozens of rental houses and the and Maplelawn Village apartment complexes, the latter of which already has boarded up buildings.

has managed properties owned by Sunnen since 1987. Most recently, managing the rentals has meant sending notices to residents to vacate by the end of their leases.

Ed Fields lives in a one-bedroom apartment in the Applewood Place apartment complex. The $449-per-month rent was affordable enough for him to live close to work, which is important because he does not own a car.

Fields' lease expires on May 30. A letter from Cozad announcing the expiration of his lease did not arrive in his mailbox until mid-March, Fields said.

"I understand big business is big business, but you should inform your clients with ample time to compensate," Fields said. "It was pretty much, 'This is what we're doing, get the hell out.' It was a big smack in the face."

G.T. Cozad, Jr., the CEO and founder of Cozad Property Management, said the development will benefit the city.

"We’re trying to help develop the community and make it better," Cozad said. "We’re developing a piece of land to bring something new to Maplewood."

About 5 acres of the rezoned land will house the dealership—a two-story, 23,000 square-foot facility. The remaining area will be used for a rainwater detention pond and a parking lot for the , which has no parking.

As of April 10, Fields did not know where he was going to live. He speculated that he might have to live in a motel for a while during the search for a new apartment.

"There are not really good options around here," he said.

Like Fields, Coleman Avenue resident Erica Smith will have to find a new home.

"People have been moving out periodically," Smith said. "It's been a very wonderful place. I'm very sad to leave."

On adjacent Flora Avenue, Mauri Tinsley pays $600 a month for a two-bedroom house with a large backyard and lives with her two dogs. Until last September, she worked as Residential Property Manager for Cozad.

"It's a shame. I hate to see it all go, but it's a business decision," Tinsley said.

Cozad's residential rental properties include 76 houses, 60 one-bedroom apartments in Maplelawn Village and 56 one-bedroom apartments in Applewood Place, Tinsley said.

Planning for redevelopment of the neighborhood had been in the works several years ago when the economy collapsed, Tisnley said. She knew it was a matter of time but was under the impression that the change would come in a few years.

Tinsley admitted that affordable housing is hard to find. Her own apartment search forced her to up rent payments to $995 a month to live in a comparable home in St. Charles, closer to her family. Yet Tinsley doubted the notices to vacate would be devastating for residents.

"Nobody's in real dire circumstances," she said. "No one has become homeless over this."

Many of the residents' leases have already expired. Those that remain in the affected buildings are slated to be moved out by September, Cozad said. The property management company's security vehicles continue to patol the neighborhood.

In January, City Manager Marty Corcoran has created a difficult situation for children in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District who are living in the neighborhood.

Twenty-six children live in 15 of the homes, said Vince Estrada, director of student services for MRH.

"Since we identified the homes, I don’t have the numbers on how many of them have relocated, but we know a fair number of them have already relocated within the district," district spokesman Tom Wickersham said.

Other students may have to move out of the district, Wickersham said. Although the effects are yet to be known, the development may also shift the tax burden or create a gap in tax revenue for the district.

Single family properties located north of the project area are also owned by Sunnen and are targeted for future commercial development, noted Anthony Traxler, public works director of Maplewood, in a memo to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

City Council is scheduled to offer a final vote on rezoning the 9.62 acres during its meeting on Tuesday night. If approved, the project would likely be completed by January 2013, according to a city memo.