Shelburnewood Mobile Home Park now owned by its residents

From a one-time uncertain future to a community of landowners, Shelburnewood Mobile Home Park has made quite a shift during the past few years. Residents became the newest landowners in Shelburne when they finalized the process of transforming their 28-parcel mobile home park into a resident-owned co-op on Sept. 30.

Shelburnewood’s residents were assisted by Resident Owned Communities USA (ROC USA) and the Cooperative Development Institute in their journey to transforming the park into a cooperative. Mike Bullard, communications and marketing manager for ROC USA, said the change has many advantages including greater stability.

“Their journey has been kind of a long one,” Bullard said of the mobile home park’s transition to being a cooperative.

At one time, the park’s very future was in question. Then, Burlington real estate developer Tony Pomerleau stepped in and purchased the property in 2013. The purchase put to end several years of uncertainty that residents had endured.

The transition to being a co-op was a move that Pomerleau encouraged. Now, residents of the park can enjoy a greater sense of security. The benefits go beyond that, however. “There is also the intangible benefit of becoming more of a community instead of just a neighborhood,” Bullard said.

The park is now governed by a five-member board, and every household in the park has a vote in park issues. The cost of lot rent, how money is spent and other matters are in the hands of the residents. They will also have say regarding those looking to move into the park; the board will be able to conduct background checks and issue approval for new residents.

“It really took a combination of the residents persevering, and Mr. Pomerleau going out of his way to secure the property and fix it up,” said Jeremiah Ward, Housing Program Director with Cooperative Development Institute.

Ward said in 2013 Pomerleau had all new water, sewer, gas and electric lines put into place within the mobile home park.

There was a gathering at the Vermod model home in Shelburnewood on Oct. 1, the day after the signing, to celebrate the culmination of all the work that had gone into making the park the state’s fifth resident-owned co-op.