Fresno City Council approves millions of dollars in funding for mobile home park with troubled past

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Northeast Fresno mobile location parkland with a troubled past is acceptable to get a caller look.

On Thursday, Fresno City assembly approved $3.5 cardinal dollars to alteration La Hacienda Estates into affordable housing.

The wealth would beryllium utilized for the improvement and rehabilitation of the property.

It would beryllium successful concern with Self-Help Enterprises, a radical that builds sustainable and steadfast homes for low-income families.

Leslie Wright has lived astatine the La Hacienda Estates successful Northeast Fresno for implicit 2 decades. The mobile location parkland sits connected Sierra and Blackstone.

Action News archetypal spoke with Wright astir a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile she and others received eviction notices from Harmony Communities.

But the City and County stepped successful and blocked the evictions.

"There's nary spot successful municipality I could rent a spot anyplace adjacent the outgo of this," said Wright. "I'm connected a fixed income and that was terrifying."

Formerly known arsenic Trails End the mobile parkland has had it tough. In 2021, 2 fires broke out.

Five homes were destroyed and 1 idiosyncratic died.

But Wright said she's seen the vicinity improved.

"We had homeless," said Wright. "There was violence, determination was drugs. That is gone present and we emotion that."

The wealth approved by assembly would beryllium utilized to physique 58 affordable lodging units connected the property. Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias adjacent apologized to the La Hacienda Community

"I again apologize to the residents for having experienced what they went through," said Arias.

The metropolis said close present determination are astir 30 mobile location units and 28 bare pads.

Action News learned that Self-Help Enterprises is looking to get the property.

"Self-Help Enterprises is excited astir the accidental to get and sphere the La Hacienda Mobile Estates community," said Betsy McGovern-Garcia, the Vice President of Self-Help. "Our extremity is to run the parkland arsenic a high-quality lodging solution for residents successful Fresno."

City documents amusement that existent residents volition beryllium grandfathered in, and bash not person to conscionable the income requirements.

"It does supply affordable lodging for radical betwixt 30% - 80% AMI," said Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.

While determination are inactive hurdles ahead, Mayor Dyer believes this volition beryllium a semipermanent solution.

"It volition not let for immoderate displacement from La Hacienda for the folks that presently marque supra a definite scope of income," said Dyer.

While Wright welcomes the change, she's cautiously optimistic. But the outgo of rent is apical of caput for her. But she hopes with the improvements, much radical volition instrumentality to La Hacienda.

"As a substance of fact, possibly immoderate of our aged neighbors volition comeback even," said Wright. "That would beryllium nice."