CINCINNATI — The last West End tenants displaced by FC Cincinnati’s stadium moved out of their homes ahead of the Friday midnight deadline, ending a lengthy, bitter dispute that at times had threatened to block construction.
The Major League Soccer team made an agreement with the final four tenants last May, offering them an undisclosed payout and extending the move-out deadline after weeks of negotiations. They lived in two residential buildings FC Cincinnati owned on Wade Street and Central Avenue, just outside the stadium footprint, allowing stadium work to begin.
Except for construction equipment, the streets near the emerging stadium looked pretty empty Friday. A woman who helped her aunt move said they had been busy getting everything out.
Several people involved with the process told WCPO that the last tenants had found new places to live, though no one would speak on camera.
A spokesperson for FC Cincinnati said in a statement:
“We have been reassured by legal counsel for the tenants that they will honor the agreement and while he has not confirmed tenants have vacated we have reason to believe they have.”
The statement said the two remaining residential buildings will be demolished to make room for a parking garage that Hamilton County agreed to build. The stadium and the garage are scheduled to open for the 2021 season.
