August 25, 2026 — Auburn, AL
The Auburn City Council’s Aug. 18 approval of conditional-use permits for redevelopment of the Chateau and LeMans Square apartments is reshaping one of the city’s last pockets of lower-cost housing near Auburn University. The council voted 8-1 on the Chateau project at 560 S. Gay St. and 7-2 on LeMans Square.
The plans would replace the Chateau’s 72 units with 65 and LeMans’ 144 units with 126 — fewer dwellings, but sharply higher bedroom counts, at 260 and 504 bedrooms respectively. Existing buildings would be demolished and rebuilt as market-rate multi-family housing, with construction planned to begin next summer.
Council members who voted no raised concerns that low-income families would be displaced without a plan for alternative affordable housing. By late August, residents had organized an Auburn Tenant Union to help neighbors facing displacement.
Source: The Opelika Observer / Auburn Villager
From the Opelika Weekly News Digest — August 24 – 30, 2026 | Vol. 1, No. 21 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News
