Freshman Angela Burgara has lived in a Meadowbrook Manor apartment since she was a child, but now she comes home every day fearing another rent increase will force her family out.

“People have gotten letters in their mail but we haven’t gotten anything,” Burgara said. “My mom’s scared that we may have to leave. My mom can’t afford (higher rent). We can’t afford much.”

Burgara and her mom live in one of the 551 apartments at Meadowbrook Manor. According to Faith Community Partnership coordinator Kristina Fruge, the buildings were acquired in January by Bigos Management, which raised rents $100 at a minimum. The company plans to renovate, which Fruge said will increase rents more.

Fruge said the Meadowbrook Manor apartments historically existed as unsubsidized low-income housing, apartments paid for without benefits from the government.

“The Meadowbrook Manor community has been more affordable rental housing in St. Louis Park, what someone would call naturally occurring, because it’s not subsidized,” Fruge said.

Fruge said the increase means a loss of stability for residents who depended on the traditionally low-rent housing.

“For a lot of folks that have been able to live there and been able to afford to live there and have some stability there, a $100 increase can be a big jump,” Fruge said.

Debbie Wells runs the Meadowbrook Collaborative, an on-site organization which facilitates educational activities for neighborhood kids of all ages. She said she tries to assist residents facing rent increases as much as she can.

“(People) like St. Louis Park. They like this neighborhood, they like the schools their kids go to — they’d like to stay,” Wells said.

Burgara won a Caring Youth Award for her volunteer work at the Meadowbrook Collaborative. She said she loves spending time with neighborhood kids.

“(Meadowbrook is) a really nice place to live. I work at the Meadowbrook Collaborative and it’s really fun, so if I do have to end up leaving, it’d be really sad for me,” Burgara said.

Wells said many residents received letters in their mailbox informing them they can no longer stay at Meadowbrook, like Burgara’s neighbors.

Along with a review of payment histories, Bigos’ new standards also allow for a criminal background to justify the nonrenewal of a lease, according to Wells.

Meadowbrook resident Gary Harshe said he currently faces eviction for a charge of simple robbery, committed in 1977, and has filed for a pardon.

“I’ve lived here two years, and now all of a sudden I can’t stay here,” Harshe said. “I’ve never had to deal with this. I’m now disabled, I’m an ex-marine from 1969, but I worked at the airport for 17 years. I’d always lived a normal life until this.”

Wells said many residents like Harshe have already left. Additionally, she said some families with school-age children were able to extend their stay until the school year ends.

Senior Mellissa Clarke said she thinks Bigos should make an effort to cooperate with tenants.

“The new management should probably help the people who are about to be kicked out find a new home,” Clarke said. “They shouldn’t just kick them out of their own home.”

Superintendent Rob Metz said out of 1,200 residents living at the Meadowbrook apartments, around 100 Park students live at Meadowbrook, including around 25 at the high school, 25 at the middle school and 50 at Susan Lindgren.

Metz said his focus remains on making sure students know that no matter where they must go to live, they can return to Park for school.

“If your grandma lives in Golden Valley, and your aunt lives in Minneapolis, and your cousin lives in Bloomington and you’re going between them, you can still come here,” Metz said.

Metz said the school district can send buses out to get homeless students, and some Park buses already pick up students in Minneapolis.

Following the changes at Meadowbrook, community members met April 5 at Westwood Lutheran Church to discuss the larger problems with unaffordable housing in St. Louis Park and Hopkins.

St. Louis Park district 46A state representative Peggy Flanagan spoke in support of affordable housing opportunities at the meeting. Flanagan grew up in low-income housing, and said she encourages students interested in the issue to collaborate with their state legislators.

“(Politicians) always expect people to come to us or young people to come to us and it shouldn’t always be that way,” Flanagan said. “Students should ask their elected officials to come talk to them and hear what ideas young people have.”

Vic Rosenthal is the executive director of Jewish Community Action, a local organization with a history of involvement in similar issues. He said although the problems at Meadowbrook do not affect every student at Park, they should still be paying attention.

“(Meadowbrook residents) could be their friends, they could be their classmates who are at risk of losing the place they live. It should bother (students),” Rosenthal said. “They should have an interest in what’s going on with the people they go to school with.”

Rosenthal said students should talk to their parents and government representatives.

“I think it’s another way for high school kids to talk to their parents,” Rosenthal said. “Say to their parents, ‘did you know that I go to school with this particular classmate who lives in this building, and her family is facing a tremendous rent increase? I think we should write a letter to our City Council member.’”

Burgara said it makes her unhappy to see her neighbors in trouble because they can’t afford the new rent.

“It’s really sad because there’s families who don’t know where to go and they can’t afford (Meadowbrook), but they can’t afford to go somewhere else either,” Burgara said. “It’s actually really sad to think about.”

A representative from Bigos Management declined to comment.