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CASA of Oregon describes resident‑purchase model and ongoing need for manufactured‑home park preservation
Summary
CASA of Oregon updated the committee on manufactured‑home park preservation, describing resident cooperative purchases, recent federal grants, and an ongoing pipeline of parks for sale that often require infrastructure investments and replacement units.
Peter Hainley, executive director of CASA of Oregon, briefed the Senate Committee on Housing and Development on Jan. 27, 2025, about the state's manufactured‑home park stock, preservation efforts and resident‑ownership models.
Hainley said Oregon has about 1,100 manufactured‑home parks with roughly 70,000 residents and that CASA, other nonprofits and housing authorities have preserved 46 parks through resident ownership or nonprofit acquisition. He noted many parks were built in the 1970s and 1980s and require infrastructure repair.
Hainley highlighted recent federal funding: Oregon received a nearly $13 million HUD allocation for park preservation (state share ~$13 million with a $6 million Burnes Paiute tribe award noted during testimony). He also reviewed past state actions that support preservation, including a one‑year closure notice requirement, relocation payments, a capital‑gains exemption for sales to nonprofits or tenants, and an opportunity‑to‑compete/notice process allowing residents time to consider purchase.
CASA's preferred preservation pathway is cooperative resident ownership, where residents form a co‑op, CASA assists with organizing and financing, and the coop holds the land while residents continue to own their homes. Hainley said state investments and CDFI bridge financing have been critical because purchase windows are time sensitive.
In response to committee questions, Hainley said unit replacement is often required for pre‑1980 homes and that recent preservation projects show the per‑lot all‑in cost can be lower than an apartment equivalent in some markets; he cited a wildfire recovery park estimate of about $290,000 per replaced lot versus a recent apartment cost of about $445,000 per unit in one comparison. He said few new manufactured‑home parks are being developed and that many sale notices he sees are not eligible for the opportunity‑to‑purchase (for example, 1031 exchanges). The presentation was informational and did not produce a committee vote.
