Talent Mobile Estates was a tight-knit group of around 100 households. But when the Almeda Fire destroyed most of the homes, that community was scattered.
Alma Rico lives in one of around 10 homes that didn’t burn down. She said she’s looking forward to her community moving back to the park, including her father.
“We’re rebuilding, but it seemed like it was never going to happen,” Rico said. “When the first few houses came in, we knew that it was real, that it was happening.”
It’s been over three years since the fire, and the park was largely empty until just a few months ago. The park will include 77 new homes, and will be owned by a cooperative of park residents.
Erica Ledesma co-founded the nonprofit Coalicion Fortaleza, the organization that helped turn this park into a resident-owned cooperative. She said that will be a major tool in rebuilding the community because residents will have a say in how the park is operated.
Still, she says, the difficult part of this work will be rebuilding the ties that used to exist in this community.
“There’s only about 26 previous families that are moving back,” she said. “So the other under 50 are gonna be from other parks. So it’s going to be a new-ish park, a lot of people aren’t going to know each other.”
Residents will be able to choose whether or not to be a part of the cooperative. But, Ledesma said opting in will likely come with perks, like a slightly lower rent and getting to have a say in park operations.
Ledesma said the rent for mobile home spaces will likely start at under $700 per month. Those funds will pay off the state loan used to purchase the park from its original owners and to pay for a management company to help with things like landscaping, utilities and maintenance.
She said rent in resident-owned communities typically doesn’t go up and in all likelihood, the rent will decrease as the loan is paid off in the coming years.
The modest manufactured homes that are being installed were funded through a state grant. They’ll be gifted to the new homeowners. Ledesma said first priority will be given to survivors who lost their own manufactured home in the Almeda Fire.
According to Oregon Housing and Community Services, hundreds of families remain displaced from the 2020 Labor Day fires across the state.
The new mobile homes in Talent will be ready for residents to move in this fall.
