Residents at Palo Alto mobile home park may have to relocate for redevelopment
PALO ALTO -- The effort to build new housing in the Bay Area is meant to help lower income residents, but it can also come at a price for those who need that help.
One group of residents in Palo Alto may have to move out of their affordable housing so more can be built.
The people who live in the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park have found an affordable place to live in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Samuel Castaneda understands just how lucky he is.
"I live for a long time here," he said. "I live here for 30 years over here. And then, I'm feeling it's very difficult to move to a different place, you know?"
But that is what he's facing. The owner of the mobile home park, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, wants to demolish all of the existing structures to build a new apartment building on one end, and replace all the mobile homes, of varying ages and condition, with new ones.
To do that will require the current residents to relocate to an undetermined location for a year or longer. Local officials heard from frightened park residents at a meeting on Monday.
"Being in this community means the world to me, but it's just really hard as a young adult, especially with how scary it is," said Jessica Guzman, a college student who can only afford to live at home with her parents.
"I think we all hear that stress that you're going through and feel the anxiety that all of you are going to experience over the next several years," said Palo Alto Vice Mayor Greer Stone. "You're going to be forced to move out of your homes. You're going to have to make large purchasing decisions."
Back at the park, resident Talela Fisiiahi had a question: "I'm like...again? They're doing this again?"
Back in 2017, the park was also threatened with redevelopment by owners who wanted to build luxury homes. But the Housing Authority purchased the land to remain as affordable housing. At the time, the residents thought the battle had been won and they could stay.
Now, they'll have to go -- if only temporarily. But in the modest community, where many residents struggle with both economic and language barriers, it's hard to imagine where they will find a place to stay in the meantime.
"You know, a lot can happen in a year," said Fisiiahi. "Even just going into that year, a lot has to happen to relocate. It's not just moving buildings. It's your lifestyle, where your kids are going to school. They're coming from a privileged standpoint to be, like, 'it's just a year.' It's not just a year."
Current residents will have an option to either purchase or rent one of the new units. And the Housing Authority is offering to buy the existing mobile homes from their owners--at an estimated price of $5,000 to $75,000.
Construction could begin by the end of this year or early next year. Officials are promising financial assistance for those having to relocate.