Not all Central Okanagan trailer park sales mean loss of affordable housing
There have been a number of sales of manufactured home parks in the Central Okanagan in recent years that have forced owners of the low-cost units out – or may soon do so.
Most recently, owners of the Shady Lane park in West Kelowna had their application to turn it into an industrial site put on hold by the City of West Kelowna until they come up with a better plan for the residents.
The former Hiawatha manufactured home park and campground in Kelowna is being rebuilt with 1,000 rental units at Ledge on Lakeshore by Westcorp, and Kerkhoff Construction bought Central Mobile Park in 2020 with plans to, some day, redevelop it.
READ MORE: Thousands demand fairness for evicted mobile home communities
But the picture is different for the 48-pad Kal Pine Estates in Lake Country, and many other manufactured home parks in less central areas, that realtor Vadim Kobasew with Re/Max Penticton has sold over the years.
“(Kal Pine) is on rural services and it’s unlikely that any development will take for quite some,” he told iNFOnews.ca of the $2.85 million sale he recently concluded.
It’s at 17610 Rawsthorne Rd., which is about three kilometres north of Oyama above Highway 97 on the west site of Kalamalka Lake and comes with its own water and sewer system, like so many other parks he’s sold.
“Most are going to remain as mobile home parks,” Kobasew said. “What it comes down to is availability of municipal sewer and water. A lot were developed outside city limits on their own water systems and septic systems.”
READ MORE: Kelowna mobile home park residents want their rights considered by developer
Most trailer parks are seen as revenue generators for the buyers, some of whom are absentee owners who enjoy the fact that the parks tend to be low maintenance operations.
“Anything sitting on the periphery, especially in the smaller communities, those are all going to remain as mobile home parks for the foreseeable future,” Kobasew said. “That’s the most logical use for them. Until city water and sewer become available, they really can’t do anything with a higher density.”
That’s good news for those who live there often in older manufactured homes. Units are valued from less than $100,000 to more than $300,000 for a newer double-wide.
The fact that such parks will continue to exist is little comfort to those in parks prime for redevelopment in Kelowna or West Kelowna.
“There are no sites available in the Okanagan,” Kobasew said. “It’s such a rare thing to find a vacant mobile home site anywhere in the valley, anywhere from Kamloops to Salmon Arm all the way down to Osoyoos. They just don’t exist.
“If an older home, for example, burns down and is not rebuilt, the owner of the park will insist, typically, that a brand year home goes in there or up to a five-year-old home. They don’t want a 40-year-old home going in there because that’s their only way to upgrade the park.”
Manufacturers of new homes will also snap up any vacant pads and be happy to pay the rent on them until they have buyers who want to move there.
The other factor is the reality that while these were once called mobile homes or even trailers, they are not on wheels and really not at all mobile.
Most have porches or other additions built on so the cost of dismantling, moving and setting them up again can be more than the unit is worth, Kobasew said.
“Anywhere in the Thompson-Okanagan, they don’t move,” he said. “They’re there for the duration.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
