CHICAGO (CBS) — More than 100 seniors living at three North Side apartment buildings subsidized by Presbyterian Homes have been left wondering where they’ll go; after the charity told them it’s selling the buildings, and residents will have to move.
Residents gathered in a room at Crowder Place, 3801 N. Pine Grove Av., on Friday for a meeting with Ald. James Cappleman (46th), whose ward includes Crowder Place and two other Presbyterian Homes apartment buildings – Mulvey Place, 416 W. Barry Av., and Devon Place, 1950 W. Devon Av.
“We were told that these residents could move to the suburbs,” Cappleman said, prompting laughter from the seniors who live in the buildings. He noted many of them don’t have cars they would need for suburban living.
Betty Holcomb was among the residents who said they were told they would have homes there for the rest of their lives when they moved in.
“It’s been clean, and warm, and safe, and we know everyone knows everyone. We know the neighborhood. The people in the neighborhood know us. This is so important for seniors. There are people here who have established their lives here. They’ve been here for almost two decades. Imagine dispersing over 100 senior citizens to God knows where. Where are these people going to go? Where are they going to go?” she said. “This is the fabric of their lives. They need to be here.”
She said residents have been “walking around in a state of shock” since learning of the plan to close the buildings.
“I would ask Presbyterian Homes, please, for all of us, to try to find some sort of solution to this problem,” she said.