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Burned parks in Talent, Phoenix move toward occupancy By Tony Boom Nov 07, 2022 01:00 AM A A New manufactured homes destined for Royal Oaks Mobile Manor are stored at a lot near Habitat for Humanity in Medford. The homes will go to residents without charge. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Work began a couple of weeks ago at Royal Oaks Mobile Manor near Phoenix, which will accommodate 118 homes that Oregon Housing and Community Services has already purchased and will supply to residents without charge. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Summer of 2023 will be the earliest that over 200 units in two manufactured home parks that burned in the Almeda Fire could be ready for occupancy as two agencies work to bring home residents. State funding has provided for purchase and rehabilitation of the parks, and one of the parks will offer free trailers for residents. Talent Mobile Estates on Arnos Street is nearly ready to receive trailers, but those units need to be sourced from manufacturers. CASA of Oregon is turning the park into an owner-run operation and is in the process of getting requests for proposals out to manufacturers to build the units, which will occupy 89 spaces. Royal Oaks Mobile Manor, just north of Phoenix, is being developed by the Housing Authority of Jackson County. Work began a couple of weeks ago at the site, which will accommodate 118 homes that Oregon Housing and Community Services has already purchased and will supply to residents without charge. “We hope to be moving in summer of 2023. There’s a lot of work to do there. We are breaking ground in the start of winter, so that could cause delays depending on how much rain we get and how much muck and mud the site gets,” said Jason Elzy, executive director of the Housing Authority. The Royal Oaks name will be retained. Jackson County Development Services has given approval to go ahead with work at the site. Adroit Construction of Ashland was chosen as the general contractor for the project. All infrastructure in the park will be brand-new, including paving, electrical, sewer and water. “For the most part, because it was a park lost in the fire, approvals already existed. We were dealing with a similar number of units,” said Elzy. He said it’s not unusual to encounter issues when you move dirt. Required soil tests have been completed at the site. OHCS purchased mobile homes shortly after the Almeda Fire, in recognition of the need — and likely delays — in getting trailers due to the pandemic. Trailers for Royal Oaks are stored in Medford and in Idaho awaiting completion of work, said Elzy. The units will all have two bedrooms, two baths and about 917 square feet of living area. Each will have a carport and additional storage. Royal Oaks also will have a community building with a manger’s office and meeting space. A residents committee will be formed to work with site management. The Housing Authority could either manage the park or hire a management firm, said Elzy. The Housing Authority used $6 million from an Oregon Department of Administrative Services grant to purchase Royal Oaks. Another $5 million from that grant will be used for site work. Wildfire funds from OHCS will cover expenses that exceed the $5 million, said Elzy. OHCS gave $7.5 million to CASA as a bridge loan, with financial arrangements to be worked out for the Talent purchase. CASA of Oregon has created 22 tenant-owned trailer parks in Oregon over 13 years. “Permanent financing will be approved by around June, and work would start shortly thereafter,” said Rose Ojeda, director of manufactured housing for CASA of Oregon. Specification for manufactured homes in the request for proposals have recently been completed and will be sent mostly to West Coast companies in the near future. The RFP submission deadline will be three to four weeks. “Depending on when the manufactured homes can be constructed and arrive, we might be able to phase in our construction,” said Ojeda. Summer occupancy might be possible, but later in 2023 is more likely, she said. Salazar Architects was hired last summer for the project and assisted with community focus groups, said Ojeda. A general contractor will be named in the near future. Much of the infrastructure work was completed after the fire by the previous owner before the sale. Remaining items will include building a community center, lighting, landscaping and roadways. Some of the pads may need to be converted from single-wide use to double-wide use. A number of single-wides that existed in the park before the fire had additions, such as an extra bedroom. Residents who were displaced from Talent Mobile Estates by the fire will be given the first opportunity to occupy the new homes. The next group would be those who lived elsewhere in the burn area and lost their residences. Members would elect a board of directors to run the park and approve changes in rent. “Our hope is that the state is going to provide units free of charge to those who lost units. We are waiting to hear from the state on what the agreements are going to be for those,” said Peter Hainley, executive director with CASA of Oregon. Among issues would be recapture of units if residents move out. “We did a robust community engagement to make sure the community had some say on design and placements,” said Hainley. A number of sessions were held in conjunction with Coalicion Fortezela of Talent, a group that CASA of Oregon has worked with previously. ACCESS will handle the placement process for residents in both parks. For more information, see https://www.tmerecovery.com/ . Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at [email protected].