Residents of mobile homes parked in a park in East Palo Alto will be able to become owners of the lot they use, after the city's City Council approved a $2 million loan from its housing fund to help them.
Palo Mobile Estates Associates, which owns the park at 1885 East Bayshore Road, is in the process of applying for a subdivision, which means converting the park into separate saleable units.
This means that mobile home residents who occupy sites in the park will be able to purchase their lot and remain in the space they occupy.
The value of each one could reach $260,000, while the double-wide ones, $325,000, according to a report by the site's staff.
Prices are high for park residents, so those interested in acquiring the space could require financial support of about $100,000, a survey revealed.
The Council directed the funds to the East Palo Alto Community Alliance and Neighborhood Development Organization (EPACANDO), a nonprofit affordable housing developer; and Preserving Affordable Housing Assets Longterm, Inc. (PAHALI), a community land trust.
Community housing organizations will use the funds to help residents purchase their lots.
The relief is against the clock, as park residents will have to submit an offer to buy their lot in early August to complete the sale 60 days later, City Manager Patrick Heisinger said at the time.
Before funds can be released, city staff will prepare a grant agreement indicating how EPACANDO and PAHALI will identify eligible families.
Notably, East Palo Alto plans to work with San Mateo County to help people living in mobile homes in the encampments access hotel or motel rooms for shelter that have served as temporary housing during the COVID-19 pandemic through the state's Project Roomkey and Project Homekey initiatives.
With information from Bay City News.
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