“It would be interesting to do a comparative history, MH vs. public housing,” said Ross Kinzler, prior executive director of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance (WHA).
“Did the public sector do any better serving lower-class housing needs? Nope,” said Kinzler.
His remark came in part as a reaction to an in-depth look at the community sector by Marty Lavin, JD.
Lavin, an industry veteran, success story, and MHI award-winner, recently wrote BACK TO CORNFIELDS? Part One: The Decline of [MH] Communities.
“Did private investors create parks just for the money? Yes, some did,” said Kinzler to MHProNews. But, “I’d argue that most community owners treated their residents as family. I’ve never seen that level of involvement from a government agency.”
“What to do about closing communities? Redoing infrastructure is very expensive…beyond what future rents can amortize…unless those places gentrify. Then their purpose changes,” Kinzler said.
“Regardless of the cause, in most cases avoiding closures requires reduced vacancies and higher rents,” the award-winning Kinzler said.
MHProNews recently reported on the Keith Ellison bill, which proposes steps to protect communities. See that linked here.
Marty Lavin’s column looking at communities, is linked here. ## (News, analysis.)
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