Press Releases
Pleasant Acres Mobile Home Park Gives Residents a Reason to Give Thanks
Reopened park now a home and community now worthy of its name
Prior to the work of South County Housing facilitating the redevelopment of Pleasant Acres, the park was in major disrepair and presented many safety issues that resulted in a low quality of life for its residents. In its over 50 years of existence, the park had only gone through minimal repair and updating. The community center and laundry area in the south part of the park did not meet the needs of the residents, had major electrical code violations and failed to meet handicap accessibility standards.
South County Housing's first improvements involved demolishing and reconstructing the park's community center. Through new architectural design, the community center was improved and equipped to be handicap accessible and available for residents and their families for social gatherings. The new center now offers residents a children's playground, updated, high efficiency laundry facilities, conference rooms and meeting spaces for the Pleasant Acres tenants' board and residents, a computer room for an after-school learning program, and a standardized mail room that is now locked for additional security.
The reconstruction of Pleasant Acres also entailed rebuilding and updating of the existing infrastructure, including storm sewers, sanitary sewers, electrical and water services, streetlights, and roads. Before the upgrade, existing storm sewers were minimally functional, sanitary sewers needed replacement and electric and water services were substandard. There were no streetlights, and the dark condition of the park after hours presented a safety hazard to the residents. The three park drives needed substantial repair and replacement to ensure the health and safety of its residents. In addition, PG&E had required that Pleasant Acres replace all utility sub-meters with standard individual meters, which had constituted a large project cost until South County Housing stepped in for support.
Pleasant Acres Mobile Home Park is one of many projects undertaken by South County Housing to provide long-term affordable housing to low to medium income families. In this particular community, a survey of the families showed that that 93% of the resident were below 80% of median income.
Funding for the project was a joint contribution by South County Housing, the County of Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency, State of California Dept of Housing and Community Development, NeighborWorks America and Federal Home Loan Bank's Affordable Housing Program.
South County Housing (SCH) is a nonprofit community development corporation. Since 1979, it has built nearly 2,700 units, including 1,346 affordable apartments for people who need them most - families with children, seniors, families in transition, farmworkers and people with disabilities. SCH has partnered with 500 families to build self-help homes, where they contributed their labor as a down payment, supervised by construction experts from South County Housing. SCH provides residents with essential services to help them stabilize their families and strengthen their finances. For further information on South County Housing, please see: www.scounty.org.