Bellamy residents file suit asking Louisville judge to grant order stopping complex from moving them out

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tenants are taking their Louisville apartment complex to court.

Residents at the Bellamy Louisville, which sits at the corner of South 7th Street and West Shipp Avenue near the University of Louisville campus, were given a 30-day notice June 26 that they needed to move out by July 26.

"This serves as official notice that your lease renewal at the Bellamy Louisville has been canceled and your current lease ends on July 26, 2022," the notice said. "The Bellamy will be closing its doors while the community experiences a major construction and renovation under new ownership."

Georgia-based Caliber Living confirmed June 29 that it would be forcing all of the tenants at the 640-bed complex out by July 26 to accommodate a planned renovation of the complex.

Caliber Living said the complex hasn't been updated since it was built more than a decade ago. The company said it's working with students to help them find other places to live.

Several residents filed a lawsuit Monday in Jefferson Circuit Court seeking a court order to stop the complex from moving them out on the scheduled "move out" day, Tuesday, July 26.

A court hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday aimed at stopping the complex's owners from breaking leases for the renovation.

Built in 2009, The Bellamy was one of the first privately developed student housing complexes to grow up around UofL's main Belknap campus in advance of the university's campus-living requirement for freshmen, which took effect in 2012.

The Bellamy was legally affiliated with the university for many years, which helped it attract student tenants. The apartment complex still advertises its U of L affiliation in a banner on its Shipp Avenue façade.

But the affiliation ended in 2019, according to UofL spokesman John Karman. He said university officials were unaware of the recent developments at the Bellamy.

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