As developers buy up properties, elderly residents are being forced to move. Aline Lyles, 85, must leave the Buena Vista neighborhood, the place she's called home her entire life. A developer bought her building on Monroe Street, and she was told her lease will be terminated.
"These new homes is driving the old folks out of their homes," Lyles said.
She looked at half a dozen places. The retirement home in Buena Vista is full and she said she was placed on a waiting list. One of the rental homes that caught her eye, also caught fire.
"I didn't really want to move in that, that was burnt," Lyles said.
A man who saw Miss Lyles on the news in our gentrification story,decided to cut her a deal.
"He's going to be reasonable with rent with me so I can survive. He's a very good man," Lyles said.
While her home search originally looked grim, she's now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. As Miss Lyles settles in to her new home on Phillips Street, she hopes other people like her will get lucky too.
"Lot of places to put my junk, so I like that! A big yard to make a garden in the back, put the flowers in the front. Now that's me, I like to see things grow," Lyles said.
Miss Lyles will move to her new home on October 1. She hopes her story raises awareness about the struggles associated with the elderly and gentrification.
