Several tenants of the Mosaic Apartments received a phone call on Friday saying they had to leave their units in three days because of a failed inspection. On Monday, the day on which they were supposed to leave, many of them instead stayed put and held a demonstration alongside labor activists to protest the decision.
Nicolas Alvarado was frustrated by the short notice. He and his family have lived at the South Nashville apartment complex for three years and he had renewed his one-year lease back in January. He also has a son attending Glenview Elementary School across the street. “They can’t break my contract,” he said.
He reached out to Workers’ Dignity — a labor advocacy organization that also once had a tenant advocacy program — with the news. Cecilia Prado, a co-director of Workers’ Dignity, met with Nicolas and other tenants that same day and tried to get answers from management staff on site. Prado returned to the apartment complex Monday to help with the demonstration.
Workers’ Dignity believes as many as 90 families may have been told they need to leave.
Nicolas Alvarado
Janet Salgado says management suggested she secure a hotel room and put her things in storage and that she may receive her security deposit back in a month. Salgado, who has three children and is pregnant with a fourth, moved to Nashville from Georgia two months ago and doesn’t know how she can find a place on short notice.
“I’m not leaving, I’m going to stay here and fight,” she said.
Another tenant, Samba Ba, also said he received a phone call telling him he would need to leave in three days — again, the caller suggesting he get a hotel room and storage unit. He tried to visit the management office on Monday morning but it was closed.
It was unclear to tenants whether the apartment’s management — Village Green Companies — would compensate them for moving out.
The rally began at 9 a.m. and lasted all day, including a press conference at 5:30 p.m. with tenants.
In the morning, three members of on-site staff pulled up in a car near the demonstrations, and quickly faced a few questions. They said tenants were not being evicted but would have to leave so that their units could be repaired — which could take four to six weeks.
Mosaic's on-site staff (right) speaks with tenants
An assistant property manager said tenants should have received written notice, but none who were present at the rally received anything in writing.
The apartments at Patricia Drive have experienced issues before. In 2019, under different management, they experienced a flooding of sewage water which displaced residents.
One longtime tenant, Abigail Garcia, said she had found mice throughout her home — including her daughter’s room — and that her tub filled with dirty water. She sent photos of the conditions to the management but says she never received a response. Garcia sent a copy of the email and photos to the Scene. Garcia did not receive a notice to leave her unit but still participated in the rally.
Russ Bradford, councilmember of District 13, where the apartments are located, told the Scene that the tenants should have received a larger window to leave than three days.
Bradford had been in touch with Jennifer McCoy, the attorney who represents the apartment complex’s management. On Monday evening, he gave an update in a video streamed by Workers’ Dignity, recounting his most recent talk with the lawyer. According to Bradford, McCoy said that no one was being evicted but because of water damage from recent floods, tenants were being asked to leave for repairs, which could take four to six weeks. According to Bradford, McCoy said tenants would receive $1,500 to help relocate and should receive new written notices on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Bradford said McCoy also agreed that residents should have received 14 days notice to move even in an emergency situation — a point also argued by a lawyer for Workers’ Dignity.
The Scene reached out to McCoy but she was unable to respond by press time.
The Scene also received the phone number of Village Green’s public relations officer but also received no response.
It is unclear who conducted the inspection at this time but does not appear to have been anyone from the city.
Bill Herbert of Metro Codes told the Scene on Monday that there was no open case on the Mosaic Apartments — no codes violation nor any order that would cause the displacement of tenants. Herbert also said there was no inspection last week. The Codes office dispatched inspectors to the apartments on Monday, and they found no violations that would force tenants to move. Herbert says inspectors did hear from police that management was evicting several tenants for nonpayment.
Asked if police had been contacted about eviction at Mosaic, a spokesperson for MNPD told the Scene that police had no knowledge of and were not involved in any type of eviction process.
Update: After the publication of this article, Mosaic Apartments' public relations team sent the following statement:
During our routine property inspections following the March 2021 flooding, we were made aware of repairs needed to maintain the standard of living our residents have come to expect and deserve. Unfortunately, our residents will need to relocate while the repairs take place. We have offered current residents impacted $1,500 per unit to assist in relocation needs. We appreciate the patience of our residents as we continue to swiftly work through this process.
Update: Jennifer Pasquale, area director of Mosaic Apartments, released a statement on Tuesday night that names BluSky as the company that conducted the inspection.
"A formal notice was issued to the impacted residents on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, providing them with 14 days to vacate their apartment," reads the statement. "We are committed to working with residents to help identify alternative housing within the area. Additionally, we have waived any outstanding balances for current residents impacted by this event, as well as refunded their security deposit and issued $1,500 to ease the financial burden of this unfortunate event."
