Co-op mobile home park 'a success' in Burlington

A rare, low-cost path to home ownership in Burlington was rescued from the wrecking ball three years ago — and appears to be thriving as the North Avenue Co-op.

"It's really one of the best-kept secrets in Burlington," said lifelong resident Jay LeClair, 45, of the former Farrington's Mobile Home Park. “It’s not until you get in here that you see what we’ve got.”

Since 1923, LeClair's neighborhood has been nearly invisible to motorists on North Avenue. Yet it comprises more than 11 acres — a full acre larger than the Ethan Allen Shopping Center that sits due west.

Residents rallied to put it on the map in 2014, when the property was put up for sale after the death of owner Sandra Farrington.

Likewise alert to a potential sale to developers, advocates for affordable housing argued that the existing neighborhood, even after decades of deferred maintenance, could flourish.

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Crunch-time arrives at Farrington's Mobile Home Park

The owner's family ultimately sealed a $3.6 million deal with the newly formed co-op.

LeClair, now the 116-unit neighborhood's maintenance manager, explained the cost-benefit math.

“You can own a new, energy-efficient, two-bedroom home here and pay $900 a month, which includes land rental, your mortgage and taxes,” he said last week. “Try finding that anywhere else in Burlington.”

Residents own their homes and share ownership of the entire parcel.

The pace of improvements, such as the removal of abandoned dwellings, has quickened, LeClair said.

“When we formed the co-op in 2015, we hit the ground running,” LeClair said. "People are more interested in how things are going — because now they have a say.”

Legacy and late-model homes

LeClair started working for the Farrington family owners at age 12, mowing lawns and making minor repairs. He acquired an intimate knowledge of the how things work in a mobile home, inside and out.

Last week he led an informal walking tour along the quarter-mile of dozens of mobile homes, each which stands approximately at the industry-standard 14-foot height.

But variations abound in the park’s housing stock, landscaping and décor.

Stubby, weathered mid-20th century units nestle close to models with a fresh-off-the-factory-floor sheen.

Doublewide trailers share the neighborhood with irregularly shaped homes featuring add-on mud rooms and parlors.

A small, super-insulated factory-built, “modular” home installed last summer by Wilder-based VerMod, bears a placard that declares that its rooftop solar panels can be expected to generate all the inhabitants’ power needs, year-round.

That single-bedroom unit has attracted relatively few potential buyers, LeClair said, probably due to its relatively high purchase price — a little north of $100,000 after energy incentives.

In contrast, a brand new, EnergyStar-rated, 2-bedroom Commodore Astro recently sold for $65,000, installed.

“The only difference between a modular home and a mobile home these days is that some arrive here on wheels and a chassis,” LeClair explained. “Our main goal here is not only to preserve this housing, but to keep it cost-effective.”

Renewal of the well-worn park is part of the plan: Another decrepit and empty mobile home will be towed off the property later this spring, opening up a total of three lots for replacement homes.

Discussions are underway to add natural gas lines and Burlington Telecom service.

Investments

City officials took a renewed interest in the neighborhood when it went up for sale. The Burlington Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) now supports the co-op with legal, technical and financial help.

In 2016, the CEDO's Housing Trust Fund pledged up to $300,000 to the mobile home park over the course of three years — funding that may be used for asbestos remediation, removal of abandoned homes; and infrastructure.

A plan is in the works to upgrade the New North End community’s ageing water and sewer service and roads in 2020.

Despite municipal support, borrowing to buy a mobile home remains a barrier to ownership, according to Jeremiah Ward of Northampton, Massachusetts-based nonprofit Cooperative Development Institute.

Ward, who worked closely with LeClair and city officials to transform the property into a co-op, said a buyer must make a 20-percent down payment, and pay down the mortgage at higher rates than a more commonly constructed “stick-built” house.

Mobile homes in Vermont are most consistently financed by Vermont State Employees Credit Union and Opportunities Credit Union, Ward said. Interest rates at the former (more commonly known as VSECU) hover close to 6 percent for a 20-year loan.

A comparable industry-standard interest rate for a standard home lies between 4 and 5 percent.

But once financing is secured, Ward said, the cost advantage of a mobile home in real, cash-flow terms “is just crazy” compared to other two-bedroom rentals in town.

Average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Burlington in February was just shy of $1,600, according to online housing search site RentJungle.

Shoppers for a "stick-built" single-family home in Chittenden County can expect to pay, on average, $367,800; or $359,600, according to a market report prepared this year by Burlington-based Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty.

Retro-futuristic appeal

North Avenue Co-op's enviable location, coupled with low-cost of ownership, creates loyal fans.

“I love it here,” said Wayne Savage, who has lived at the mobile home park for 26 years (and who is an occasional videographer for the Free Press).

Jenny and Nelson Slingerland, who in late December, downsized from their double-wide in Hinesburg to a new, 14-by-80-foot home on Avenue A, love it here, too.

They reside just down the street from where Jenny, now 69, lived as a teenager. Some of her old neighbors have remained in the neighborhood.

The convenience of a walking, rather than driving for groceries and other errands played a key role in the Slingerlands' relocation.

"Plus," Jenny added, "we just wanted to get back to Burlington."

Similarly, maintenance manager LeClair balances nostalgia with practicalities.

“I grew up with a lot of friends here; with aunts and uncles and grandparents,” LeClair said. “They’re great starter-homes for families and they’re great for older people who just don’t need a lot of space."

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Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.