'Neglected' Mobile Home Property Sold In Cleveland

EUCLID, OH — Ohio's largest land trust has purchased a 28.5-acre mobile home property on the eastern edge of Cleveland, in the Collinwood neighborhood. It now vows to fix property ailments that have developed in recent years.

The Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park is located between Bratenahl and Euclid. Euclid Beach Park borders its west side, Villa Angela and Wildwood parks border its east side, and the Cleveland Public Library is near its southern border.

The former owner of the property intended to place the Home Park for sale, possibly allowing it to be turned into high-rise apartments. Ward 8 Councilperson Mike Polensek learned it was hitting the market and quickly contacted the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.

“For me, this immediately became a rescue mission. There’s no chance the community would have supported high-rise apartments or commercial development, and neither would I,” Polensek said. He was also worried a private developer could raise rent prices or force tenants to relocate.

Matt Zone, senior vice president of Western Reserve Land Conservancy, has already reached out to the Mobile Home Park's tenants. The Conservancy is now contacting possible civic partners, including the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, the Greater Collinwood Development Corp., and the Cleveland Metroparks and the Cleveland Public Library.

Officials will begin analyzing the property and determining its best use for current and future generations.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to intelligently create a long-term strategy that could be transformational for the North Shore Collinwood neighborhood and the Cleveland-Euclid border,” Zone said. “But until we do our due diligence, there’s a lot that we don’t know. Nevertheless, here is what we do know: this property will not become high-rise apartments, high-end housing or a strip mall."

Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park once housed nearly 300 rental units. It now has approximately 150 rental units. The Conservancy argued the Mobile Home Park has been neglected for years, with deferred maintenance on leaking water lines and other issues cropping up over time. Officials vowed to make those fixes soon.

“We intend to make these repairs as quickly as possible, improve the quality of life for these residents and treat them with compassion and respect,” Zone said. “We are committed to providing certainty and relevant information to the tenants.”