The Community Within the Corridor (CWC) has extended the deadline for tenants to terminate their leases for cash and help finding new housing.
A spokesperson for CWC said the offer, originally ending Friday June 16, now expires on June 23. The company is also giving tenants several more weeks, until July 14th, to get their belongings out of the apartments, according to the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said housing, as well as weekly food and transportation stipends, will also continue until July 14th.
The updates come after a tenant, Tiffany Bowen, filed a lawsuit Wednesday with attorneys from Barton Cerjak S.C. against CWC on behalf of herself and more than 100 former residents.
"Tenants should not be in a situation, not even speaking about this case, if they've done nothing wrong, and they're forced all of a sudden to find alternative accommodation," said James Barton, a co-founder at Barton Cerjack S.C.
The lawsuit accuses the developers of failing to disclose and misrepresent contamination at the site.
In late March, Milwaukee Health Department evacuated the new housing development after the state Department of Natural Resources reported elevated levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial solvent and known carcinogen, in the building.
According to the lawsuit, the CWC gave tenants the option to end their leases for $5,000 per family, money "desperately needed" to restart their lives.
But, the suit claims, if tenants take the deal, they also forfeit any right to future legal action against CWC, even in the event they get sick from exposure to toxic chemicals.
"Some of these people or their children could develop cancer down the line and then what, they have no recourse?" asked Barton.
The lawsuit claims the developers flouted state health recommendations and moved people in early for financial gain.
"The justification for doing so was to obtain tax credits. And because it was a project financing issue. Maybe there is an explanation. I'm not sure," said Barton.
Barton said he'd like tenants to consider all options and knows some may not be able to wait out a lengthy legal fight.
"The issue here is that [time] is what these residents lack, because they need to secure suitable accommodations, and they need to do so in very short order," said Barton.
Barton said many tenants have said they'll reject the deal.
The CWC spokesperson said the company is considering its options for people won don't sign and keeping in mind immediate needs of the residents.
Since the evacuation, CWC has not answered any of our specific questions about health threats.
But they did tells us that when they moved people in, a system to clear toxic vapor worked properly.
They have also not responded to our questions about project financing.
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