Residents fight hedge-fund purchase of Chapel Hill mobile home park

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- A group of Chapel Hill residents are banding together and calling on the help of Congressman David Price in their plight to stay put in a mobile park community.

Alejandra Ribera said she has lived at Ridgewood Road Mobile Park for nearly 13 years.

Ribera said she and others are struggling to afford rent as the park comes under new ownership.

"They've been raising the rent more and more especially just now, and we haven't seen any benefits to the maintenance in the park," she said.

Price said affordable housing is a concern not just for Ridegwood residents but across the Triangle.

"Housing is unavailable or unaffordable for too many Triangle residents - it is a pressing problem that I am fighting to correct every day as Chairman of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee," Price told ABC11. "While I am unable to resolve private housing disputes, I plan to meet with residents of Ridgewood Road Mobile Home Park to hear their concerns directly. Too many residents are being pushed out of their homes due to rising rents, low wages, and unsafe conditions. We must work at every level of government to make housing a priority and ensure families can stay in their homes. At the federal level, that means passing a robust infrastructure package that makes housing a key component of recovery."

The Chapel Hill property was purchased by the New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital.

The president of the company is familiar with the area. He's a graduate of Duke University and there's a building on campus bearing his family name.

ABC11 tried to reach Aldan Global to ask questions about the acquisition of the mobile home but has not gotten a response.

Ribera's son recently quit school to help her out financially as she fights forward.

"We've all lived here very peacefully for many years, so we hope that they listen to us and that we have the opportunity to live here for many more years," Ribera said.