From Dilapidation to Beautification - City Cleans Up Former Mobile Home Park > City of Kannapolis | City of Kannapolis

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(Before and After Photos)

For years, the Villas Mobile Home Park, a seven-acre plot of land owned by the estate of the late Howard V. Wyrick and under the current oversight of a bankruptcy trustee, lay virtually abandoned and increasingly polluted with dilapidated mobiles homes, trash, and abandoned furniture.

Now the City of Kannapolis is exploring acquiring the land off Fairview Street in order to utilize it for possible green space or other private development purposes.

The City has a lien on the property and officials have been discussing with the bankruptcy trustee the option of forgiving the lien in exchange for taking ownership of the property.

In December, the City demolished and removed nearly 50 mobile home units from the Villas Mobile Home Park. Clearing out the mobile homes has cost approximately $90,000, which included the removal of asbestos and demolition. Grant funds from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) paid for this project.

The City had previously been involved with the property to assist the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the clean-up of batteries that were dumped on the site, as well as a small oil spill. In addition, more than 200 tires that people have dumped near the creek on the site over the years have also been removed.

The City is applying to the EPA to be included in the Targeted Brownfield Assessment Program. While this would not provide direct financial assistance, it would provide a consultant to conduct an environmental assessment of the site. The next steps are to understand what, if any, environmental contamination still exists on the property. That information will determine whether the City takes ownership and if any additional clean up may be required. Assuming the property is still viable, the City would like to then examine possible uses for its future.

Regardless of what lies ahead for the Wyrick property, the clean-up was necessary. Had the City not intervened, the property would have continued to deteriorate and negatively impact neighbors.

Possibilities for the property could include green space surrounding the creek as well as residential or institutional uses. The City will be reaching out to the surrounding neighborhood to get input on the future uses of the property as the process moves forward.