SAN JOSE — The Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Community’s owners will file paperwork by the end of the year to close the park, the owners confirmed to a roomful of devastated senior citizen residents during a meeting this week.
“My first reaction was pure anger and then deep depression,” said Mari Jo Pokriots, a 71-year-old woman who’s lived in the West San Jose mobile home park for nearly 40 years. Amid years of speculation that the owners wanted to sell the land — across from the red-hot real estate market near Santana Row and Valley Fair — because of its skyrocketing value, Pokriots and a group of others fought to keep it open.
But during Wednesday’s meeting, the owners confirmed plans to sell the 16-acre mobile home park to PulteGroup, a home-building group that will develop residential homes and a hotel. The full park closure could take at least two years, with new development beginning in a little more than three years, officials said.
PulteGroup officials referred comments to a public relations firm. Devin Hassett from the PR firm Keadjian Associates said the site’s location made it more attractive for the housing project.
“The site is located close to Santana Row, one of San Jose’s most important urban villages,” Hassett said in an email. “More customers will be located near a key sales tax generating area, while a hotel development will create jobs and additional tax revenue for the city.”
PulteGroup would not disclose the terms of the contract or price they’re offering.
Hassett said the company plans to dedicate 111 units for senior affordable housing, but the 140 seniors living inside Winchester Ranch aren’t convinced they can afford to stay.
Winchester Ranch is the latest Silicon Valley mobile home park facing closure in a booming real estate market that can be appealing to developers eager to build high-density, high-end housing.
In Palo Alto, the proposed closure of the city’s only mobile home park, Buena Vista, would uproot nearly 400 residents living in one of the Bay Area’s priciest cities. Santa Clara County and Palo Alto officials have pledged funding to preserve it, but it’s unclear if it will be enough to stave off a sale for private development.
San Jose has a mobile home conversion ordinance that provides financial compensation to the park’s residents. The ordinance has been on the books since 1986, but city officials said it’s never been used. Winchester Ranch represents the city’s first mobile home park conversion.
City leaders are now looking at updating the ordinance to preserve San Jose’s 59 mobile home parks and bolster protections for residents.
Councilman Chappie Jones, whose district covers Winchester Ranch, said he’s hopeful the ordinance can be updated in time to preserve Winchester Ranch, which he called the “Disneyland” of mobile home parks.
“This is something we’ve been aware of for a while,” Jones said. “That’s why we’re trying to be as aggressive as possible to update the ordinance or do some type of rezoning.”
But Pokriots says the ordinance needs more teeth and doesn’t guarantee Winchester Ranch’s residents will be fairly compensated. Early estimates show the residents are being offered $140,000 to $190,000, but homes less than a mile away are selling for nearly $1 million dollars.
Pokriots said it’s going to force many of the park’s residents — 76 percent whom are considered low income — right out of San Jose.
“As we build up in this city and the urban villages come in, we know it’s going to get rid of mobile home parks,” she said. “We need to have some protections because we’re not going to be able to stay in the valley.”
The residents formed a homeowners association and have appealed to city leaders to revise San Jose’s conversion ordinance to provide stronger protections for residents, including fair market value for their homes.
The city is holding public workshops about the ordinance on Aug. 13, 29 and 31. The City Council is scheduled to receive a work plan from staff at its Aug. 11 meeting.
In a letter to residents, one of the Winchester Ranch’s owners said the transition will be managed with the “utmost care and compassion” and promised financial support and relocation resources.
“This has always been a difficult decision due to my family’s connection to the park and because so many good people call the park home,” wrote Lee Arioto. “Despite everyone’s best efforts and intentions, the park’s closure will create some concern and disruption.”
Another longtime resident said she worries that closing Winchester Ranch will set the precedent for other closures. If the city allows the land sale, then the other 58 mobile home parks might be next. San Jose has the most mobile home parks in the state.
“Mobile home parks have become the only option for moderate-income people,” said Mary Kuykendall, 69. “We are the linchpin. If the city allows us to close, you know the opportunity for developers to pursue other mobile home park land will be extreme.”
The stress of not knowing what’s next has caused resident Phyllis Tripp’s disabled husband more health problems. The 75-year-old said her husband, who has battled lupus and leukemia, now suffers shingles flare-ups from the uncertainty of losing his home of 40 years.
Tripp said she spent nearly $70,000 renovating the home and now she’s going to lose it all. “I thought I would be here until they had to carry me out,” she said, standing inside her remodeled kitchen Thursday. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Follow Ramona Giwargis at Twitter.com/ramonagiwargis or contact her at 408-920-5705.
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