Changes for the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park in Palo Alto

TrailerPhoto by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

According to statistics, approximately 5.6 % or 17.7 million people in America live in mobile homes. Mobile homes serve as affordable housing for low-income residents. In turn, mobile home parks are in demand to investors.

Palo Alto is one of the most expensive cities in the United States. One of the few areas of affordability in Palo Alto is the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. It is located at 3980 El Camino Real in Palo Alto. The mobile park covers about 4.5 acres and has served as a home for mostly low-income families and individuals. It is located in a prime location on El Camino Real in the heart of Silicon Valley and it is just a few miles from the headquarters of Facebook and Google.

Bueno Vista used to be a road-stop general store and motel in the 1920s. It then grew into a location for low-income housing in Palo Alto. In 2012, the owners of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park had been interested in selling the park to developers. After much consternation on the part of the mobile park residents, the owners decided to change course.

Recently, the park had been saved from being dismantled by developers. The Santa Clara Housing Authority, Santa Clara County, and the city of Palo Alto bought the mobile home park and decided to revitalize it with the help of the non-profit Caritas Corporation.

Significant improvements have been made to the park

These include putting in speedbumps and revamping common areas such as the laundry room, common bathrooms, and showers. Improvements were also made to security. Security plays a big role in keeping out any unwanted visitors in the park including homeless people.

In addition, 18 prefabricated homes were bought to replace the old trailers but as of 2021, only seven have been put up and the rest will be placed within a month's time.

The prefabricated homes are easy to ship and assemble and may refer to buildings that are built using components, modules, or transportable sections. The prefab homes at Buena Vista Mobile Park look quite nice and are bright and colorful.

The revitalization changes have also brought about less vandalism, rats, and cockroaches.

The current situation

In 2019, the Santa Clara Housing Authority decided that the work with the Caritas Corporation was done. That was when they brought in John Stewart Company to handle the management aspect of the mobile park.

Unfortunately, some residents of the mobile park are unhappy and have stated that the changes have not benefited them. They state that the new prefab houses have been rented out to other renters while some of the long-time residents of the mobile park are stuck in their old trailers. The older trailer might just be 200 square feet and the kitchen may double as a living room, a dining room, and a storage room. The newer homes are reportedly larger in size so it is quite a contrast when the newer homes are placed next to the old trailers.

The response of the Santa Clara Housing Authority is that it has taken time because of COVID-19 and the switching of the management companies. They say that they are still working on ensuring that everyone at the park will have a new home.

As of now, a google search of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park reveals that it is temporarily closed.

Source: The Mercury News

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