ST. ANTHONY, Minn. – The Minneapolis StarTribune this week profiled the closure of a manufactured home community in the greater Twin Cities.
Lowry Grove was sold, shuttered, and slated for redevelopment, displacing the almost 100 families who live there.
But the article compares Lowry Grove to Park Plaza Cooperative (which works with Northcountry Cooperative Foundation for technical assistance), only eight miles away in Fridley. Park Plaza Board President Natividad Seefeld and other residents is interviewed extensively, with the 6-year-old ROC held up for comparison as a thriving, stable community that’s making significant health and safety improvements:
Jorge Muñoz and his wife moved to Park Plaza a year ago after having previously lived in a larger mobile home community in Minneapolis. The differences are clear, he said: Park Plaza is cleaner, safer and calmer.
That sense of pride and security is reflected in the interactions between neighbors. “And we greet each other,” Muñoz said, speaking in Spanish. “Good morning, good afternoon, good night.”
The two communities, once owned by the same person took divergent paths and the results are heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
Read the entire article here.
This is an amazing story that shows you the heartbreak that communities should not have to have and the story of what could be if all park owners gave all of us a chance at not only land ownership but complete home ownership. I am so blessed by the fate we were given as this could have been our community as well. As two of us from Park Plaza attended a vigil of the death of one home owner at Lowry Grove it broke our hearts that we couldn’t do more to help them. Keeping in mind that our two communities had the same owner at one time. All thou we had some empty lots not all homes were able to move due to age. We shared hugs and some food as we got ready to leave with the last remaining residents of Lowry Grove for the last time. I was left feeling very sad for all of them and so very mad at the same time that this had to happen.
With every ounce of my being I know in my heart we have to keep pushing forward for updated laws that will help to stop this kind of thing from happening in the future. As a Cooperative Community we have to remember that we are not only running as a community within our walls, gates or land we call ours but we are people who need to take a stand for a better future for all residents living in Manufacture Mobile Home Communities. Remember to share your stories as much as you can. Tell of how you became a community keeping in mind the big “what if we were sold” thoughts. Be thankful every single day you have a place to live you know isn’t going to sell or close. Say thank you often and smile at others even more.
I thank all of you as ROC Leaders for your hard work and great accomplishments. We can’t do this work without all of you and the residents. Always try to see the greatness in each day even if you think it isn’t there or isn’t going to happen, as it will.
Have a Blessed and Wonderful Day
Natividad Seefeld
President of Park Plaza Cooperative & President of ROC Association