In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, residents at the now city- owned Midfield Mobile Home Park are heading towards the end of a three year journey – that concludes with the community closing down.

“It’s very depressing. I don’t want to see it,” said resident Cindy MacDonald, who also shared that she can hear demolition crews tearing down her neighbors’ homes.

According to the Calgary Sun, six months before the community is scheduled to be shuttered, it now looks like a ghost town, as residents are moving out.

“Nearly half of the trailer [sic] pads in the 183-pad park [sic] are today vacant,” said Doug Cassidy, director of real estate and development services for the city.

“We continue to work with residents to facilitate where we can. Many of the residents have worked independently, in terms of either moving their units or making plans to move otherwise.”

While Cassidy is confident all 183 spots in the community will be empty by the end of September, some longtime residents have said they have no plans to move from the community, which is central to key services.

“There are people that are going to fight to the bitter end,” said MacDonald.

Beginning in May 2014, residents of the Midfield community received letters stating that the community would close on September 30, 2017, because aging water and sewer pipes were unsalvageable.

They were told by the Calgary City Council that they would be relocated to the soon-to-be-built East Hills Estates on the outskirts of the city.

Then, the council told them that wasn’t going to happen.

With few options, as many communities are full, many community residents who opted to move their homes versus demolishing them, have decided to relocate their homes outside of city limits.

The city of Calgary offered eligible residents tenants a lump-sum payment of $10,000 to leave and a maximum of $10,000 toward the costs incurred to move their factory-built home, as well as counseling services.

“All residents that have moved have received money, in accordance with the Midfield Closure Program,” said Cassidy.

“The remaining residents continue to receive assistance from the city in finding a new place to live, and a housing fair is scheduled for June.”

Cassidy shared that after the community closes, the city will start working to remove underground utilities and prepare the land for grading work.

The future plans for the land, which is located in a highly desirable inner-city area, have not been revealed.

Similar cases continue to play out not only in Canada and in the U.S., but also in Australia, where residents of the Wantirna Caravan Park must move as a property firm plans to build high rise towers. That story is linked here. ##

 

(Image credits are as shown above.)

 

Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.