Senior Housing saved! King County’s Wonderland Estates purchase is finalized for $8.4 million

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:

Rhonda Rosenberg, KCHA, Director of Communications, (206) 574-1185
Dec. 13, 2007
RR08-04

PRESERVING A WONDERLAND LIFE: KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY BUYS WONDERLAND
ESTATES TO PRESERVE THE MOBILE HOME PARK AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Seattle – Just in time for the holidays, the King County Housing
Authority purchased Wonderland Estates for $8.4 million. By acquiring the
property the Housing Authority has ensured that the mobile home park will be
preserved for its senior residents, many of whom live on fixed incomes.
In this season of hope, it’s great to be able to tell the
residents, many with nowhere else to go, that they won’t lose their homes,
said Stephen Norman, KCHA’s executive director. With mobile home parks
threatened with closure all around the state, it is critical to save these
important local affordable housing resources. Wonderland has a terrific group of
residents who did everything in their power to save their community from
demolition.
Residents at Wonderland Estates organized the effort to save their homes
in 2006, shortly after receiving a two-year notice to vacate the property from
the owner. At first, the residents planned to buy the park themselves and run it
as a cooperative. When that effort didn’t work out, they began meeting with
city, county and state elected officials concerning their plight. They received
strong support from King County Executive Ron Sims, Renton Mayor Kathy Keolker,
the Renton City Council and the King County Council, particularly Councilmember
Reagan Dunn, in whose district the park is located. The Housing Authority got
involved at the request of Executive Sims.
Wonderland Estates residents would have had to vacate the park by August 2008
had the King County Housing Authority not been able to come to terms with the
owner of the park.
The 109-space mobile home park, located just east of Renton off the Maple Valley
Highway, was considered prime property for redevelopment into for-sale homes or
condominiums. The acquisition financing was particularly challenging because
the value of the land as a subdivision is substantially higher than its value as
an older mobile home park. However, the Housing Authority was able to pull
together a deal to save this critically needed housing from the wrecking ball.
“It was very important that the Wonderland Estates are preserved to
ensure that long-time residents can continue to live in their homes, said
King County Executive Ron Sims. I want to commend the work of the King
County Housing Authority, as well as congratulate the residents for their
steadfast commitment to keeping Wonderland Estates open. Thank you also to the
leadership of Renton Mayor Kathy Keolker, the Renton Housing Authority and King
County Councilmember Reagan Dunn for their hands-on involvement with this effort
and help in making it a reality. Together we were able to preserve homes for many
seniors on fixed incomes, who otherwise would not have an alternate place to
live.
Said Councilmember Reagan Dunn, This is an example of government at
its best “ dealing with problems before they get worse. Without this deal, a
hundred seniors would face homelessness next year. Instead we are helping
homeowners keep their homes. We’ll see them in a grocery store line instead
of the soup line. That’s something to celebrate for the holidays.
Renton Mayor Kathy Keolker is also pleased that Wonderland residents can
remain in the community. Last summer, when the residents of Wonderland
Estates found out the land their homes sat on was suddenly up for sale, they
came to the city of Renton to ask for our help, said Mayor Keolker. Even
though their mobile home park was just outside Renton city limits it was
important to all of us in Renton, and to me personally, to find a solution and
to save their homes. I am thrilled that we were able to work together and that the King County Housing
Authority was successful in purchasing Wonderland Estates and preventing the
displacement of over 100 people from their homes. Residents of the Wonderland
community can now continue to live independently, while remaining close to their
families and friends in the community.
State Sen. Margarita Prentice was pleased that she could help save this
critically needed housing. Places like Wonderland are so hard to keep
nowadays, said Sen. Prentice. I’ve always admired the people who live
there. They come from a generation that lives within their means; they look
after one another like a true community. It’s really great that government
was able to step in and do the right thing.
Wonderland’s residents also think that KCHA’s purchase of Wonderland
Estates was the right thing to do.
It was a long and difficult process and we âre grateful for the
outcome, said Don Charnley, president of the park’s communications committee. We have a lot of people to thank“
Councilmember Dunn, Mayor Keolker, the King County Housing Authority and many
others. Everybody here is just ecstatic. You can bet this will be a happy
community for a long, long time.
KCHA administers a range of quality affordable rental and homeownership programs
for residents of King County. The Authority serves more than 17,000 households
daily including family, elderly and disabled households. There are more than
8,000 households living in mobile home parks in King County. Many are
threatened with closure. Preservation of existing affordable housing is a core
mission for the Authority. KCHA recently stepped in to preserve 162 units of
rental housing slated for demolition near SeaTac airport.