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Packing up memories

The sale of a mobile home park forces families to start over, with some not knowing what lies ahead.

By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS
Published May 26, 2006

INTERBAY - Eve Hill was on the verge of starting over when she found a three-bedroom mobile home at Holiday Mobile Home Park nine months ago.

The 33-year-old mother and her three daughters lost their home when the girls' father went to prison. Hill, who also has a criminal record, was turned down repeatedly by landlords.

Hill finally found a place to live at Holiday, where her kids could ride their bikes outside the front door. She made payments to buy the mobile home with the money she makes waiting tables at Steak n Shake.

She looked forward to having a place of her own.

Then, she heard the rumors.

Neighbors saw surveyors marking the 22-acre site and started asking managers questions. Were they selling the 45-year-old mobile home park on Interbay Boulevard? No, they said.

Then, the letter came in March. It was from longtime owners Charles and Louise Springer. They had sold the 233-space park.

Boos Florida Development bought it as Interbay MHP for $10-million, according to Hillsborough County Property records. Boos is a Clearwater retail and residential developer.

On March 17, residents received another letter stating they had to vacate by Sept. 18.

"All leading up to it, they lied completely," Hill said.

The management refused to answer questions about the sale from the Times. The Springers' attorney Mark A. Linsky did not return a telephone message.

Single-wide owners will receive $1,375 to leave behind their mobile homes. Double-wide owners will get $2,750. They get a $1,000 bonus if they vacate by July 31.

Renters like Hill, even those in the process of buying, will get nothing.

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Reminders of a dying neighborhood are sprinkled throughout the park.

One handmade sign posted in front of a mobile home reads: Please Don't Take Plants!! Someone else spray painted a black smiley face on the door of an abandoned mobile home.

Plywood blocks the windows of others to keep away squatters. Neighbors chatter with quiet anger, but it is no use.

Soon, they'll be gone.

Wendy Wright will have to stuff her family's belongings into her four-door Dodge because she can't afford a moving truck.

The 27-year-old mother of three was fired from McDonald's after she missed five days of work in two weeks.

It happened when her two youngest kids came down with a virus and she had to care for them. Then, the oldest got it. Then, she did.

Wright hopes she can find a cheap place to live nearby so that people can help her move. But if she ends up moving to New Port Richey to live with her mother, whatever doesn't fit in her car will have to stay behind.

Patricia Hapsic will lose the white hibiscus bush she planted. Unable to work because of epilepsy, arthritis and other illnesses, her 74-year-old husband still works as a roofer to pay the bills. They will move to a nearby mobile home park.

Jim Mathers, 72, found a small rental in another park but it will cost him an additional $82 per month. To survive, he'll have to trim expenses.

"I'll have to stop drinking beer," he said.

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Lucy Gatteri, 80, won't miss the place entirely.

"I really can't blame them for selling it," she said. "When I moved in here 25 years ago, it was beautiful, and it slowly went downhill."

Gatteri's air conditioning is out. She lives with her deaf daughter and her granddaughter who plans to go to the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota this fall.

Gatteri said she looks forward to moving somewhere more hurricane-safe. Her granddaughter is tired of the "trailer park trash" stereotype she gets.

"The stigma hangs on you like a sign," Gatteri said.

Still, after 25 years, leaving will be difficult. Last week, three surveyors toured the site and walked into her yard with a T-square.

"They're deciding what trees to tear down," Gatteri said.

They approached the tree her granddaughter played in as a kid. Gatteri's eyes welled with tears.

"Don't do that," she said. Her voice cracked. "I planted that tree."

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at 813 226-3354 or azayas@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 25, 2006, 15:33:03]