They rock, and not just in chairs
If we said “senior citizen mobile-home park,” what would come to mind? Probably nothing like this place. An acre of man-made lake, greenbelts and a community rock ‘n’ roll band make Lake Park La Mirada anything but your stereotypical manufactured-home community.
Beginnings
Lake Park Communities opened its first mobile-home park in Yorba Linda in 1970. Over the next five years, the company built communities in La Mirada, Brea, La Habra, Placentia, Santa Ana and Soboba Springs.
Lake Park La Mirada, which opened in 1975, has about 150 homes. It’s north of Rosecrans Avenue, south of Imperial Highway, east of Marquardt Avenue and west of Valley View Avenue. Households must have at least one member who is 55 or older. No one under 18 is allowed to live there full-time.
What it’s about
The management of Lake Park Communities says the goal was to create a community that gave seniors a sense of security, independence and pride of ownership.
“Many homeowners come to Lake Park to downsize,” general manager Wynn Hornburg said. “After they sell their homes, they put their equity in the bank and use that money to live on and travel.”
“If you’re in an apartment, you’re sharing common walls. Here in Lake Park you have your own walls, your own space and your own gardens,” regional property manager Eva Raleigh said. “In an apartment you just don’t have that.”
Lake Park La Mirada has on-site managers who oversee the community’s administration, maintenance and resale of homes.
Insiders’ view
“The people here care about each other and watch out for one another,” said Mary Paxton, 62, a resident and Lake Park La Mirada’s on-site manager. Paxton said the community has a call-up system that offers help to anyone who is in trouble or in need of emotional support after the death of a loved one.
“[Lake Park] is home. My porch is open to everybody and anybody; I’ve got so many nice friends. I’ve lost a lot, but in the meantime, I’ve gained a lot,” said Carol Katzman, 72. She and her husband, Norm, 82, were married beside the community’s lake in 1985. When asked if she would ever move, Katzman replied, “Only if it were absolutely necessary.”
Lake Park La Mirada’s own community newsletter, the Lake Park Breeze, keeps residents up to date on social gatherings. Every month, residents from a particular street will sponsor a community meal at the clubhouse. Other events include the annual Fourth of July parade and Thanksgiving dinner celebration; vacation group getaways, classic car shows, fishing competitions, bingo, card games, concerts performed by the community’s rock band and dances.
Housing stock
Houses in Lake Park La Mirada are all manufactured homes with two or three bedrooms and one or two bathrooms, and have 1,200 to 2,200 square feet. Although these homes have had their wheels removed, residents may reattach the wheels and move their properties.
Like many mobile-home communities, Lake Park La Mirada has a land lease. Lake Park La Mirada’s average land lease is $779 per month and includes rent for the home site and maintenance costs for common areas and amenities. There is no homeowners association fee in addition to the land lease. Hornburg and Raleigh said that Lake Park residents typically pay cash for their homes.
On the market now is a 1,440-square-foot home for $120,000. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a circular-shaped kitchen and a wide driveway that can accommodate two cars side by side.
A 1,492-square-foot home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms, ceramic tile and Berber carpet is listed at $140,000. And a 1,632-square-foot home with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a view of a greenbelt is listed for $165,000.
A 1,708-square-foot home is listed at $225,000. Completely remodeled with new cabinetry, wood flooring and carpet, it has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a family room, a dining room, a den and an enclosed sun room.
Sources: www.lakeparkhomes.com; city of La Mirada.
