Residents of Villa Maria Retirement Apartments have been abuzz for weeks, if not months, about their homes being turned into condominiums — a rumor that is untrue and is being blamed this week on a group that calls itself Save Ocean Springs, or Save OS for short.
Catholic Charities Housing Association of Biloxi Inc., which owns the apartment tower on prime downtown property, has slipped letters under the doors of the units to reassure residents that nobody is going to take away their housing, where rent is subsidized based on income.
After residents received the letter, Mayor Kenny Holloway went on Facebook to blame SaveOS.org for starting the rumor and has also reassured residents that the city has “no intention of doing anything with the Villa and would never displace the residents.”
Save OS has made no secret of the fact that members dislike the city’s direction, including proposed development of Front Beach and a downtown property contaminated with chemicals. The group has been encouraging like-minded residents to run for office and posting government records online, including incumbents’ campaign contribution reports.
Residents of Villa Maria are an attractive voting bloc. The tower includes 198 apartments with more than 200 residents, and there’s a voting precinct in the building. With municipal elections coming in the spring, candidates will be courting the residents.
Catholic Charities Housing Association of Biloxi, which owns Villa Maria Retirement Apartments, has distributed this letter to residents.
Ocean Springs elections around corner
Candidates always visit with food before elections. Residents have even been known to select their political preferences based on the quality of what’s served, resident Glen Huff said. (Side note: If you want Villa Maria residents to show up for a gathering, best bring food.)
Ellen Hall, a founder of Save OS, and other members of the group have been meeting monthly with residents since June to talk about issues facing the city, Hall said.
Hall is being blamed for starting the condo rumor at a cookie social on Monday. Hall said she never told residents their homes would be turned into condos. Member Becky Carnley Desporte, who was also at the meeting, backed up Hall.
”I would never say something like that,” said Hall, who has no plans to run for office but actively follows what’s going on at city hall. “I’m a lawyer.” She said that she wouldn’t want to risk being sued for spreading false information.
Instead, Hall and Desporte said, residents were asking about plans for a potential condo on another downtown property and about other development. Somebody asked, Hall said, if Villa Maria might be turned into condos.
“I had never even heard that rumor,” Hall said. “When they said that in the room that day, I was shocked, I just said, ‘Well, I don’t think that’s possible.’ ” Hall was pleased that her cookies were a hit.
The rumor about Villa Maria Retirement Apartments being converted to condominiums supposedly started at a cookie party that Save Ocean Springs hosted there Monday. While downtown development was discussed, group members say they never told residents condos were coming to Villa Maria.
Facebook loves a good rumor
Resident Huff, who was at the cookie gathering, says he never heard the women say Villa Maria would be turned into condos. The condo rumor, he said, didn’t start at the cookie party.
He instead thinks the rumor started with a bunch he likes to call the Artificial Intelligence Inmates, or AII for short. These residents gather in the lobby or under the oaks along Washington Avenue, where Villa Maria is located.
“Lots of rumors swirl under those oak trees,” Huff said. “That rumor has been going around a long time.”
He’s not sure why or where it started. It could be because developers have been building at a rapid pace in downtown Ocean Springs. The town is now so flush with restaurants and bars that some residents call Government Street, which intersects with Washington Avenue, a mini-New Orleans Bourbon Street, and not in a good way.
Or, Huff said, the rumor could have started because some apartments were empty and hadn’t yet been cleaned out and made ready for the next tenants. Some of the AII members might have thought a sale was afoot, he said.
Who knows? But Facebook loves a good rumor. Commenters are busy taking sides under Holloway’s post.
Holloway is still convinced Save OS is trying to scare folks into believing their apartments might be turned into condos.
He said two residents at the meeting told him that a Save OS member — he’s not sure who — told them “if you continue to elect these people, they’ll turn this place into condominiums.” He didn’t want to put the residents in an uncomfortable position by releasing their names.
The group Save Ocean Springs denies starting the rumor that Villa Maria Retirement Apartments would be turned into condominiums, which is not true. Known as SaveOS, the group has started a grassroots campaign for responsible development and public participation in city government.
