The story began back in September, when a group of Lowry Grove residents sued to block the sale of the property, testing a state law that said residents had 45 days to match an offer made on the property.
Homeowners partnered with Aeon Management, a Minneapolis based non-profit management company, to make a matching $6 million offer on June 10, the day of the deadline.
The offer was rejected; the residents sued, and Judge Joseph R. Klein ruled against the residents, writing in part that the statute “…does not grant them an unfettered ability to purchase the park [sic]. They were not deprived on that right because it was never, in fact, granted to them.”
According to MPR News, while the appeals court rejected the claim, it did say said the community residents may be entitled to more money beyond the cost of their homes.
Residents did receive news in December that the deadline for closing the community has been pushed from March 15 to June 30, 2017, to allow children in the community to finish out the school year.
Interestingly, Alan Arthur, CEO of Aeon, also sees good in the ruling.
“The court said residents may be entitled to more compensation,” said Arthur.
“Residents will use the compensation process to keep pushing for a purchase and a Minnesota Supreme Court appeal is a possibility. We have options that we will be weighing with the residents and with our attorneys.”
The original story on the Lowry Grove community is linked here.
For more on residents working to purchase their communities, including the Dover Point Cooperative in New Hampshire coming together to buy the Polly Ann Park community, click here. ##
(Image credits are as shown above, and when provided by third parties, are shared under fair use guidelines.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.
