BOISE, Idaho — In order to combat the high rising costs of housing in the Treasure Valley, the City of Boise just purchased a mobile home park to preserve low-cost living options.
The Sage Mobile Home Park, located on the Boise Bench, is an area covering 2 acres near Shoshone Park and has access to the Vista transit.
In a release sent Thursday, the city said: "As our community continues to experience growth and rising housing prices, the City of Boise is doing everything we can to ensure a home for everyone, which includes preserving existing affordable housing."
Current residents at the park were notified of the exchange and told Boise City/Ada County Housing Authorities would take over property management.
Michelle Price has lived at the mobile home park almost her whole life. She said she is looking forward to having new owners — as long as the city keeps its promise not to evict anyone.
“I just hope that they keep their word," Price said.
In the next few weeks, the city plans to make repairs to the park's electrical system and update the parking lots and amenities, ensuring residents are not displaced from their homes.
The city said there are no 'immediate plans' to redevelop the park.
"Our housing team is exploring innovative solutions and partnerships to take care of our most vulnerable residents, many of whom are at risk of being displaced from their homes," Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said. "The purchase of Sage Mobile Home Park will keep 26 more homes affordable for Boiseans and allow us to invest in improvements to the park to address life and safety issues."
The city, partnering with the Boise City/Ada County Housing Authorities, intends to start a housing preservation program to further preserve the existing affordable housing in the area.
This purchase is functioning as a pilot for the upcoming program.
According to the release from the city, the goal is to preserve 1,000 affordable housing units already built in Boise. To learn more about the city's plan, visit Boise's official website.
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