Trailer court residents prepare for moving day
Monday March 19, 2007
Bridger View residents have until October 2008 to move, make way for proposed Story Mill development project
By BROOK GRIFFIN Chronicle Staff Writer
After 32 years, Frank Kane is leaving Bridger View Trailer Court. Kane, 85, a three-decade resident of Bridger View on Bozeman’s north side, is moving to Miles City in a few months, one of the many people affected by the proposed Story Mill Project. The trailer park has to go, according to the plans for the massive new residential and commercial project, which puts everyone living there — about 90 units — in the house hunt. Kane has lived alone in the trailer since his wife passed away in 1989, and looks at his situation with the cool, calm demeanor of someone without much choice. “There was a time when we should have sold this and bought a place,” he said. “I tell people this is a university town where you go to learn and I did: Don’t put your property on someone else’s land.” Negotiations with Gobuild, the project-management group behind the Story Mill Project, have been going on for months and most of the residents in Bridger View have reached settlements. Most of them, like Kane, own their trailers, but rent the lot.
Kane, like many residents there, is thankful Gobuild has helped as much as it has. He said Gobuild has offered him $11,000 for his trailer, not quite as much money as he has put in over the years, but enough to help him make a new start.Deals to purchase trailers have been made, assistance has been given finding other housing in the area and many people are satisfied with the outcome.
More than 60 signed contracts have been delivered to Gobuild, said Chaucer Silverson, a representative with the local firm.
“The developer has said we don’t want to screw anyone over,” Silverson said. While the situation has been difficult for the residents of the trailer court, Silverson said, there have been many “silver linings” or happy endings. “Admittedly we’re the change agents,” he said. “It sounds sad on paper but I don’t know if there is a perfect way to do this.” The bottom line is Gobuild didn’t have to be as nice as it has, said Kathy Callahan, another resident of the trailer park. “They treated me pretty well and I got a good deal,” she said. Developers could have told everyone to be out in 30 days, she said, but instead chose to work with the residents. Still, there are some residents, she said, who will not do well with the change. “I did OK, but maybe half the people around here are not happy,” she said.
Many found the price of new homes in Story Mill too high and so alternatives had to be found. “They bought me out and it was enough to pay off what I owed at the trailer park,” said Mandy McClurg, one of the many residents who has already left Bridger View. McClurg now has a home in Belgrade and said she appreciated Gobuild’s efforts to help her. “They were very informative and got back to me every time I had a question,” she said. Residents have until October 2008 to move, although some will be able to stay and “rent” their trailers back from Gobuild until the company is ready to begin construction. Rent will be increased by about $200 from what residents pay now.
Many of the trailers at Bridger View are empty now and eventually Gobuild will have to sell them off or recycle them before any new construction can begin. Kane said he will miss his trailer and Bozeman in general. “This is the kind of home you plan on spending the rest of your life in,” he said. “I’m not upset because it’s nobody’s fault but my own. I’ll adjust.”
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