Families in the Lake Elmo, Minnesota manufactured home community of Cimarron Park are getting a much desired center for youth. The area is mainly occupied by low-income families which have struggled for housing.
The Twin Cities StarTribune tells MHProNews that the building space for community activities which includes a day care center and for their youth after school programs is a step ahead, taken by the Stillwater agency.
Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) has agreed to allow FamilyMeans the Recreation Center to operate rent-free in the basement of the building that is also the location for their manufactured home land lease community’s management office.
ELS will be charging the organization $1 per year in a 30-year lease for the new building’s land. The youth program is growing rapidly, so it appreciates this affordability.
Tom Yuska, who founded the agency’s youth programs 20 years ago said: “FamilyMeans will now be able to expand on the programs they provide and develop new programs that will better the lives of the kids in Cimarron Park, their families, and the greater community as well.”
The new center broke ground in September at an estimated cost of $1.2 million, and is set to be completed in January of 2015. Kate Yunke, property manager for the ELS community, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with FamilyMeans to bring programs that will benefit the community’s kids both academically and socially.”
Jaime Staska, Children’s Program Coordinator, has been with the project from the beginning. He’s watched the growth and maturity of the young people, some of whom go on to college, have jobs and start careers.
At the groundbreaking ceremony one teen who spoke Staska was very proud he said: “That’s a really neat thing to do, to see someone like that … really grow into her personality, “It’s been quite a privilege to be able to see them grow and develop. Development is the goal, after all.”
As regular Daily Business News readers know, Chicago based ELS is the largest operator of land lease communities in North America and ELS is one of the stock’s tracked in our daily MH industry focused market report. ##
(Photo credit: StarTribune)
