Efforts Fall Short For Sartell Residents Hoping to Take Ownership of Mobile Home Park

SARTELL -- After months of hard work, time has run out on a group of Sartell residents working towards ownership of the mobile home park they live in.

Residents of the Sartell Mobile Home Park have been working on buying the park after learning the park would be put up for sale back in February.

The Northcountry Cooperative Foundation has been working with the residents to help them buy, own and operate their community. Director of Business Development Kevin Walker says it came down to lack of time to access the proper infrastructure funding.

"That would have helped address what was understood to be a gap in necessary financing to make the resident purchase go forward. In the end that's what got in the way of it moving forward," says Walker.

Walker says this would have been the state's largest resident purchase in overall transaction size and number of home sites had the purchase gone through.

He adds he was beyond impressed with the leadership and dedication the residents had in trying to reach their overall goal.

"I would say they were one of the best organized groups that we've worked with in terms of level of membership and other activities they put in towards trying to realize this purchase," says Walker.

Walker says they do not know what will happen next with the property but believes the fact the residents could not move forward with the purchase puts the community at risk.

With the deadline passed park owners, RV Horizons, can now sell the property to another buyer.

The Sartell Mobile Home Park is located at 106 S. 2nd Street, next to Great River Bowl and Partners Pub.