Thom Chiki thought he had found an ideal, affordable place at Grant Oak Apartments. It offers perks nearby: a grocery, a hospital, a park and the Columbus Metropolitan Library out back. In fact, the library is his landlord, at least for now.

Thom Chiki thought he had found an ideal, affordable place at Grant Oak Apartments. It offers perks nearby: a grocery, a hospital, a park and the Columbus Metropolitan Library out back.

In fact, the library is his landlord, at least for now.

It notified Chiki and other tenants last month of the possibility that the apartments would be sold or redeveloped, adding that the letter was sent to �provide advance notice so you may consider your future living options.�

�Obviously, it�s very disappointing,� Chiki said. �It kind of came out of nowhere.�

The letter from library CEO Patrick Losinski added: �There is now a high degree of certainty that the library will no longer own the Grant Oak Apartments as early as fourth quarter of 2016, or early 2017.�

Columbus Metropolitan Library bought the apartment building, along with a row of six other apartment buildings on the same block of Grant Street just north of the library, in 1990. The purchase was a move to secure land for future expansion.

�We want to provide tenants with maximum flexibility as they consider their living situation,� said library spokesman Ben Zenitsky. �We do not have a set timeline on when these buildings would be sold, but it is certainly something our board of trustees will be considering in the coming months.�

After the library bought property to the east of its main building, it no longer needed the Grant Oak Apartments property. Now, all seven Grant Oaks Apartments buildings could be sold or redeveloped.

The expanded area to the east will serve as an outdoor reading area, making its debut as part of the library's June 25 reopening.

Chiki said he plans to roll with the punches, taking advantage of the month-to-month rental agreement option being offered to him. But he said he worries that affordable apartment options Downtown are dwindling. He pays $595 per month for the apartment he has had since last June.

�Places like this, where it�s more affordable, it seems like they�re trying to buy those out and trying to turn them into something more profitable, whether they be parking lots, new luxury apartments or little strip places.�

Columbus apartments had a 5.1 percent vacancy rate last year, down from 8.9 percent in 2010, according to a report by real-estate research firm Reis Inc.

Rob Vogt, a partner at Vogt Strategic Insights, a Columbus-based real-estate research firm, said high costs of development projects make meeting the high demand for affordably priced apartments Downtown difficult.

�The biggest problem today is the fact that we don�t have a lot of affordable choices Downtown anymore,� Vogt said. �The cost of land, and the cost of materials, and the cost of development, dictate that all the properties coming online or the recently developed properties are on the high end.�

The average asking rent for a high-end apartment in the city last year was $978, compared with an average asking rent of $686 for lower-quality apartments, according to the same Reis Inc. report.

Vogt said the Columbus rental market is strong and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Consequently, Vogt said, renters are either going to have to settle on rooms in older buildings or move to a suburb.

mhuson@dispatch.com

@Mike_Huson