Residents of Plymouth's only mobile home park worry about impending sale of property

Tucked away off a busy corner of Hwy. 55 in Plymouth, the Sun Valley mobile home park is a tightly knit community where everyone seems to know what's going on.

What's going on right now? According to residents, the mobile home park and its roughly 6 acres are up for sale.

The only mobile home park in Plymouth, Sun Valley houses several hundred residents, many of whom have lived there for decades.

Managers have informed them the park is being sold by its longtime owners, several residents said, and representatives of the buyer have been out several times to inspect the property.

Karen Miller, who owns the park with her husband, Bob, refused to comment on sale plans.

"It's none of your business," she said. "Just drop the story and leave it alone."

But residents are wondering whether the property will continue to be operated as a mobile home park going forward. According to city officials, that's the most likely outcome.

Steve Juetten, Plymouth's community development director, said any buyer planning to use the property for another purpose would have to go through a long public process.

"The zoning would have to be changed, the comprehensive plan would have to be changed — there would be a substantial process," he said.

Normally, if a property is slated for a sale and major redevelopment, city planning officials would be notified and involved upfront, Juetten added. There's been no notice of any such plans for the Sun Valley site, he said.

That would be good news for residents like Efrain Gutierrez, who lives in the park with his four children.

"I like the neighbors," he said. "It's like a community."

Gutierrez, a truck driver, formerly owned a house with a mortgage payment of nearly $1,700 a month. Now he pays $260 a month to rent a space in the park.

"I can give more to my family," he said, meeting his son Ezekiel as the boy got off the school bus.

Nancy King has lived in the park since 1976. It was a beautiful place when she moved in, she said, but she hopes the new owner makes some much-needed upgrades.

"The pipes are in bad shape," she said, often leaking into the yards. Her own water is foul, and she's taken to drinking bottled water.

The bad water has ruined two water heaters, she said, and the streetlight near her home has been out for three years.

Still, she said, "I've enjoyed living here. If we get some things done, it might be worth a couple hundred dollars more [in rent]. But if they don't make a lot of improvements, they'll have their butts in court."

John Reinan • 612-673-7402