Portland councilors consider saving mobile home park

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The cost of saving a Portland mobile home park is continuing to increase.

KOIN reports the City Council will consider spending $3.2 million in federal housing funds to preserve 22 units in the aging Oak Leaf Mobile Home Park in Northeast Portland on Wednesday.

The money would be matched by $2 million from other public and private sources for a total of around $5.2 million for infrastructure upgrades and other improvements.

That comes to about $236,000 per unit. Originally, when the Portland Housing Bureau was first asked to help save the park in in 2016, it had 34 units. By January 2018, it was determined that zoning and other requirements only allowed for 22 units to remain.

At that time, preservation costs were estimated at $4.3 million, or around $195,000 per unit. The total cost the council will consider Wednesday is $1 million more.

Despite the higher cost, the PHB Housing Investment Committee recommended approval of the funding in September.

The council voted to change the zoning for 56 other manufactured home parks in the city in July to preserve them as affordable housing.