The move-out deadline has come and gone for one business owner on Elmwood Avenue, and he is currently locked out.
Developers have been trying to force the owner of ENS Signs out of his Elmwood and Forest location for months.
Chason Affinity wants to build a new apartment complex, but it is still waiting for the final tenant to pack up and leave.
With the proposed mixed-use project nearing its final approvals, Clarance Carnahan, the owner of ENS Signs, is being forced out.
“I’ve been in this neighborhood practically all my life. I really don’t want to leave it,” said Carnahan.
Tenants of other buildings on the site of the project left in July, but Carnahan insisted on staying in his neighborhood, until a court ruled in favor of Chason Affinity, demanding that he leave.
With the rising rents in the Elmwood Village, ENS Signs will relocate to the corner of Elmwood and Amherst, about a mile north of the current location.
Chason Affinity gave Carnahan until Monday at 4 p.m. to have everything moved to the new location.
In a statement to 7 Eyewitness News, Chason Affinity said:
“Judge Carney issued an order on November 8th that Mr. Carnahan needed to vacate. The judge gave him one day, we’ve given him extra time and are now looking to have the order enforced.”
Carnahan wasn’t able to get everything relocated by the deadline and is not sure if he’ll be allowed back inside to get the rest of his equipment.
