A chain link fence surrounds most of Sandpiper Park, the unfinished mobile home park on South G Street in Arcata. The exception is a row of five houses facing the street where work is complete. Only the corner home is occupied. Two more have “sold” signs in their windows, but one of the low income buyers who signed up to buy a unit just backed out of the deal, the agency working on funding the park was told Friday morning.
“Essentially the project is disintegrating,” said David Loya, Arcata’s community development deputy director. In the newest complication, he said, Coast Central Credit Union has put the brakes on further loans to buy the mobile homes because of funding disputes between the state and the successor to Arcata’s now-dead redevelopment agency.
The man behind Sandpiper, Maurice Priest, president of Resident Owned Parks Inc. is still hoping the state will reverse its position and allot the $500,000 needed to pay off contractors and complete the mobile home park. He stopped by Sandpiper last week to talk with future park manager Bob Hurney about what to do next. Porch steps were missing from the caged units; the lumber to build them was piled in the central parking area. Steps or not, Priest wanted Hurney to get address numbers onto each unit. Because he’s worried that news about the park’s financial troubles will hurt sales, he hired an advertising company to create a television commercial for the park to run on Humboldt cable channels.
While he’s waiting for Arcata to work out its disagreement with the California Department of Finance, Priest is weighing his options. The almost complete project clearly has value, and he’s certain he could leverage that to find other funding somewhere, although he’s not sure where.
In Arcata City Council chambers Friday, Loya laid out options for the committee. Send off an official response to the state’s rejection of a request to retain $2.4 million allotted for the Sandpiper project and hope the bureaucrats realize “they’ve erred in their decision.” Plan B: “Lodge a formal complaint with Starfleet Command.”
The successor agency oversight committee opted for Plan A.
This article appears in The Gun Issue.
I wish to correct several portions of this article. As the President of nonprofit Resident Owned Parks, Inc., that owns Sandpiper Park, we are committed to completing this affordable housing community so that low and moderate income persons can live at Sandpiper.
Had the Journal contacted me today, I could have confirmed that the Oversight Commission established by State Law, passed this morning a Resolution that the Sandpiper Project should remain funded so that it can be completed. On Wednesday, January 16th, the Arcata City Council has the opportunity to pass a motion to complete Sandpiper with the existing State funding. The ad posted in the Article for promoting Sandpiper Park was initiated by ROP over 2 months ago, long before the state funding issue was raised. To suggest that having house numbers placed on homes is improper, or that front steps not yet constructed indicate the project is disintegrating, is simply wrong. When the City Council votes to complete the project next Wednesday, Sandpiper Park, already more than 95% complete, will be finished. ROP will continue to promote a viable and beautiful affordable housing community that will be a fine addition to the City of Arcata.
Maurice Priest, President, ROP
The park was horribly planned, crowded and will add no value to the area. The one-bedroom units are tiny and crammed together. Cars parked in the driveways are unable to open their doors without hitting the neighboring unit. The bedrooms are barely large enough for a queen size bed. The lawns and landscaping is non-existent, a far cry from the picturesque scene on the Sandpiper billboard. What type of miniature people did the planners envision living in these shoeboxes?
The developers were clearly thinking about maximizing profits instead of quality of life. There could have been a very nice park built, but instead we get this. Whomever was responsible for allowing this project to go forward has done an injustice to Arcata.
Just watched the video. The park looks like crap and has a ghetto feel too it (minorities being the low-income).
Can’t imagine any value of homeownership being of value in a sardine housing complex set-up.
Question: Are any of the units available for those using wheelchairs? It seems the dinky size also limits the body-size of the people able to fit into such a sardine can.
Parties? How will noise pollution affect lifestyles? Parking, cars… Seems it would be like an apartment over an industrial business for noise confrontations. Anyhow, being on South “G” Street is ghetto enough!
Too bad LOCAL government has to stick its nose and slither its forked tongue into everything! Then again, Dan Hauser is involved, what do you expect! – HOJ
We need affordable housing for families. We do not need single bedroom shoeboxes.
This really was a very poor idea. Even worse than the “Entrance to Arcata” redevelopment that went on last year on Samoa Blvd, which is now overrun by weeds and trash, with the fake brick walkways peeling up and signage still waiting to be placed on empty poles.
It is becoming very apparent that the city planners are incompetent. I wonder what half-baked profit-motivated project will be next.
This program has been killed from what it was to be over 5 years ago. Letting Maurice Priest and Dan Hauser run this clown-show take over of the two parks in Arcata was stupid. The original plan was to help the original people in the two parks. Now after 5 years in a 20 year expedited plan cycle, they have raided the government tax-dollars and still haven’t finished it.
So for 5 years, what has happened to the original people that this government funded take over was to help? Maybe the NCJ could interview the people who where to be originally effected and helped and see where they are today.
http://www.residentownedparks.com/Sandpiper.html
Hold the press! This park is already finished, to be completed by Aug 2012! Says so right there on the webpage.
http://www.residentownedparks.com/arcata.html
Look at all the improvements done to Arcata Mobilehome park, oh wait, these pictures are 5 years old, and these are trailers that the previous owner put in.
So yeah, the Arcata government gave ROP a metric fuckload of cash to do this project, ROP then juiced the people in the parks for a metric fuckload of cash, and drag it out over so many years and see what happens…
But don’t forget
http://www.residentownedparks.com/dealer.html
ROP isn’t just Management, they are also the dealers!