PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Nearly two years after back-to-back hurricanes damaged homes across Pinellas County, a program designed to replace storm-damaged mobile homes at no cost to the owner is in motion.<\/p>\n
The team with Pinellas Recovers says one mobile home has now been demolished and replaced through its hurricane recovery program, four more replacements are underway and another 46 approved homes are in the pre-construction phase.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf these applicants are willing to take full advantage of everything we have to offer and work with our case management and us throughout this process, we can really get them a new home that can withstand the test of time and anything that can be thrown at us this hurricane season,\u201d said Mackenzie Bergstrom, a grant coordinator with Pinellas County.<\/p>\n
The first mobile home replacement happened in late June at the Palm Circle mobile home community, where resident Richard Brill\u2019s storm-damaged home was demolished and replaced at no cost to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very secure,\u201d Brill said. \u201cThey got it tied down all up and down the mobile home. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll blow away anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The replacement is part of Pinellas Recovers, the county\u2019s hurricane recovery effort funded through federal disaster recovery dollars.<\/p>\n
Mobile homes present unique challenges because residents may own their home but lease the land underneath it. County program guidelines allow eligible applicants who live on leased land to receive a replacement, but they must have the landowner\u2019s consent or identify another suitable location.<\/p>\n
Replacement manufactured homes are rated for Wind Zone 3 and can be elevated as much as 8 feet to meet flood requirements, depending on the property\u2019s location and flood risk.<\/p>\n
The county says homeowners are also able to choose among qualifying mobile home models rather than receiving the same replacement home in every case.<\/p>\n
The program currently has 120 approved mobile home applications, with more than 1,000 additional applications still under review.<\/p>\n