Tenants and neighbors of the Cobbs Hill Village apartments have filed suit to block a planned redevelopment of the complex, saying it will unnecessarily alter Cobbs Hill Park and gentrify a badly needed low-income housing complex for seniors.
They also challenge the developer’s claim on the property, which is within the boundaries of the park.
Papers filed in State Supreme Court say the suit is being filed by the Coalition for Cobbs Hill. That includes the Cobbs Hill Village Tenants Association, plus more than 20 city neighborhood associations and advocacy groups. Their suit challenges the city’s environmental and project review process. It also challenges whether the city had the right to extend the developer’s lease on the land until 2061.
City officials say they hadn’t yet been served with the suit and couldn’t comment on it.
The original developers of the complex were given a city lease on the land and built the complex in the 1950s. The city extended the date the property reverts back to the city in 2009.
City Council is holding a public hearing on the project Wednesday evening at city hall.