Duroville Resident's New Home in Limbo
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Residents at the notorious Duroville mobile home park in Thermal are facing another setback, as the state strips redevelopment funds from the housing project where the residents were supposed to move. Video by kmir6.com
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THERMAL- Residents at the notorious Duroville mobile home park in Thermal are facing another setback, as the state strips redevelopment funds from the housing project where the residents were supposed to move.
"The majority of the people have said they wanted to leave, just to hear on the news that now the help that promised is no longer available," said Meregeldo Ortiz-Pascual, a resident at the mobile home park.
For the past several years, residents have dealt with old trailers, dirt roads, a poor sewage system and unreliable electricity. A federal judge ordered changes at Duroville three years ago. The county stepped in to help by building low income housing for farmworkers just one mile away from the embattled mobile home park. But with now funding to finish
the project is in limbo. Seven million dollars was supposed to come from the now dissolved county redevelopment agency.
The new mobile home park, Mountain View Estates, only has 42 units. It was supposed to have 181 units.
"We thought we were in the process of having the new homes delivered and by late summer all the new units would be substantially installed," said Tom Flynn, Duroville's court-appointed receiver.
Riverside County has spent more than $20 million on the project already.
"I think there is the potential that this gets mothballed and losed because no one can operate this park in a physically and prudent way and not go bankrupt," said Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit.
-JESSICA FLORES, KMIR6 NEWS
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