TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Park Apartments resident Alexis Livingston has just a few weeks left in her home before she will be relocated to a different subsidized housing community.
- 170-plus residents of Tampa Park Apartments being forced out
- HUD to no longer subsidize rents due to failed inspections
- 23-acre property adjacent to potential Rays stadium location
Livingston and her young daughter are one of about 170 residents who received letters stating they would have to leave by September.
"It was just shocking, just out of the blue," she said. "(I) just was told you all are (going to) have to move."
Tampa Park Apartments is located on East Scott Street, between Nebraska Avenue, Nuccio Parkway and east 7th Avenue -- in between downtown Tampa and Ybor City. The 23-acre property also is adjacent to the location of the recently announced potential Rays stadium location.
The complex has failed inspection the past four years. As a result, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is pulling out, stating they will no longer subsidize rent for the 55 percent of residents living there who they assist.
"School is about to start; that's really big." Livingston said. "To have my child worrying, wondering, asking, 'Mommy, where are we going to go?' -- I don't like that feeling," she said.
Each of the families affected will be moved into Section 8 housing in another Tampa-area location.
Livingston hasn't been told where she will be living next, or whether she needs to arrange accommodations on her own.
She's also not surprised about the failed inspection reports. Livingston said she has missing lights and can't have her daughter sit in the tub because of chipping paint and drain problems.
"It's just bad timing. It's just really crazy," resident Marie Carter said.
The Tampa Park Apartments filed a lawsuit against HUD in 2014 on an unrelated issue. That case is pending in federal court.
Spectrum Bay News 9 is awaiting comment from Tampa Park Apartments management.