Osprey mobile-home park nears extinction

An Osprey mobile-home park is on the verge of extinction to make way for new bayfront residential lots with a view of Casey Key.

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty is listing 12 bayfront acres at the end of Sarabay Road for a combined price of $7.49 million. Those acres, though, can be sold individually as two-acre parcels for $1.49 million apiece.

One of those two-acre parcels is also the site of a mobile-home park called Bayfront Mobile Home Park, located at 922 Sarabay Road.

Happy Haven Inc., which owns the mobile-home park on the property, could not be reached for comment for this story.

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty real-estate agent Joel Schemmel said a mobile-home park that once contained hundreds of residents now contains “only a handful.”

“Bayfront Mobile Home Park was never a fully organized mobile-home park with state-approved condominium association documents,” Schemmel said. “It was a grandfathered park that sits on lots that are designated for single-family homes.”

Schemmel said no residents have been evacuated from the park, but when residents leave, the lots are not being rented out any longer because Happy Haven Inc. has agreed to sell the property and vacate when the lot is sold.

The property, Schemmel said, has been on and off the market for the last four or five years.

“But we’ve had more interest lately for the sites,” Schemmel said. “They are beautiful, deep lots overlooking Casey Key.”

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s listing for the property states the property is an “accumulation offering multiple options including development or creation of the ultimate bayfront estate.”

The property contains 600 feet of existing Intracoastal Waterway space with existing dockage. The property is also adjacent to a marina.

Osprey Harbor Village President Ray Joelson said any upgrades that can be done to the property that sits near his community would be a good thing.

“Right now, it’s very low-cost housing, and the trailers left are not in very good condition,” Joelson said. “Whatever happens to those lots will be an upgrade over what’s currently there, that’s for sure.”