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Residents' fears come true; park sold

Bay Pines mobile home owners will addthe buyer to their suit.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published May 17, 2006

Their fears came true Monday when developer John Loder bought both Bay Pines and Bay View mobile home parks on Bay Pines Boulevard.

It is unclear what price Loder paid for both properties. But it is likely he paid around $38-million for the 55-acre Bay Pines, 1005 Bay Pines Blvd. That's the price mobile home owners were unable to meet to buy the park for themselves rather than see it go to Loder.

The news came Tuesday in a press release from one of Loder's corporations, Sunvista Development. The release quoted Loder as saying, "We believe we have acquired a truly unique infill property."

The release goes on to say, "The new owner does not intend to operate the park any longer than legally required. While no definitive plan has been reached for the future use of the site, the new owner will continue to evaluate the highest and best use for the property. ... Further information on the closing of the park will be disseminated to tenants in the very near future."

Loder said in the release that he had hired the "foremost local expert in relocation services to assist current tenants in finding new accommodations."

It is that need to relocate that has caused the most concern for Bay Pines residents. The concern is especially heavy for those who own their mobile homes, which are not really mobile, but pay rent to stay on the property.

Under state law, the owners are entitled to receive $3,000 for a single-wide and $6,000 for a double-wide to help pay for moving them out of the park. If the home can't be moved, the owners would receive $1,375 for a single-wide and $2,750 for a double-wide.

Many of them are too old to be moved so many of the owners, who are mostly retirees, stand to lose their entire investment in their homes. That includes money spent on improvements to the mobile homes.

Calling the situation an injustice, residents of Bay Pines and nearby Harbor Lights Mobile Home Park, which Loder once wanted to buy, have crowded Seminole council meetings in recent months to beg for help.

But until a petition for rezoning or a change in the use comes before the council, members have no real choice other than to listen to the pleas.

With the council unable to help, the Bay Pines Homeowners Association late last week filed a lawsuit against Dennis R. DeLoach Jr. and Peter Hofstra of the DeLoach and Hofstra law firm because they are co-trustees of the E.J. Bickley Trust that owned Bay Pines until Monday.

The homeowners association alleged that a prospectus written in 1984 guaranteed them the right to remain in the park until Dec. 31, 2020.

But a letter from an attorney representing DeLoach and Hofstra says the lawsuit lacks merit and threatened to countersue for damages unless the homeowners association dropped its suit by 9 a.m. Monday. That was not done.

Loder said Tuesday he was not a party to the suit and declined to comment on it.

Leo Plenski, head of the Bay Pines Homeowners Association, said Tuesday that the dispute will probably end up in court.

And it will probably include Loder.

"As a matter of fact, we contacted our lawyer today and did that," Plenski said.

[Last modified May 17, 2006, 07:55:29]