The Buena Vista Mobile Home Park is a historic housing community, about 4.5 acres in area, located in the City of Palo Alto. Its roots go back to the 1920s, when it was first advertised as an “auto camp” to nearby Palo Alto and Stanford University, along El Camino Real. By about the 1950s it had evolved into a mobile home park with hook ups for utilities in each home space.

The Park was threatened with closure in 2016 when the previous owner decided to sell the property for market-rate redevelopment. The resilient residents of Buena Vista organized themselves and launched a community-wide effort to save the Park. As a result of this effort, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, the County of Santa Clara, and the City of Palo Alto partnered to purchased the property to prevent the eviction and displacement of the nearly 400 residents in 2017. The Housing Authority and its partners are committed to developing beautiful, new housing at Buena Vista that reflects the interests of the entire community and the needs of the families currently living at the Park.

Since 2017, the Housing Authority has been making substantial investments to improve the infrastructure and quality of life for residents of Buena Vista. Early on, the Housing Authority undertook a major relocation project, moving several families from a dilapidated motel on the property and relocating mobile homes from a portion of land that was retained by the original owner of the Park. In 2020 and 2021, 18 new RVs and Manufactured Homes were brought into the Park as part of a Replacement Housing Pilot Program, creating better quality housing for 61 Park residents. Other substantial investments include the clearing of trash and abandoned cars, repairing homes, installing new electrical and gas utilities, replacing aged sewer and water lines, replacing paving, demolishing abandoned coaches, capping unused utilities for safety, and providing space for onsite services and the afterschool program.

At the same time, the Housing Authority was tasked with bringing the Park and its residents into compliance with the new regulatory agreement and rental housing laws. The Housing Authority and its partners, including The John Stewart Company, worked towards completing Housing Quality inspections on the units, ensuring the units were up to code and Health & Safety standards, issuing compliant leases, and certifying household income levels. This work continues today as residents adjust to the new property management and policies of the Park.

In late 2019, the Housing Authority assumed the role of Developer and owns the Park through its affiliated non-profit, Poco Way HDC, Inc. In its capacity as Developer, the Housing Authority is working towards creating a feasible plan to redevelop the Park into quality, affordable housing. The major goals of this redevelopment plan are to: 1) Ensure there is quality housing for all current Buena Vista residents at the Park 2) Provide new, comparable housing units for all current residents 3) Ensure all current owners retain their homeownership rights 4) Ensure rents at Buena Vista Park are affordable for the current and future residents based on income levels 5) Increase community and amenity space 6) Remove the gas lines and upgrade all utilities and coaches to electric. Currently, the plan includes maintaining a portion of the Park as a mobile home park and carving out a portion that will become a rental apartment building, thus serving existing coach owners, as well as current and future renters. The Housing Authority is in the process of completing a construction phasing plan which will determine if and how long any temporary relocation may be necessary.

January 2023, the Housing Authority started sharing plans and feasible design concepts with residents, City and County partners, and local elected officials. Our goal is to solicit feedback from residents through the Spring of 2023 to help determine the future amenities, design, security and living spaces. The Housing Authority anticipates submitting design plans for entitlements with the City of Palo Alto and California Department of Housing and Community Development in Summer 2023, with construction commencing on the future mobile home park in early 2024.

City Council Presentation | March 4, 2024