BRADENTON BEACH – Pines Trailer Park homeowners are expressing frustration about the lack of communication as a possible park closure date looms on July 31.
A Feb. 4 email to homeowners from Fort Lauderdale-based property acquisition company The Urban Group stated in part: “As you have been previously informed, and as a direct result of the community-wide damage dealt by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, coupled with non-payment of lot rent, Pines Trailer Park is no longer sustainable as a trailer park, and must be closed, with an official park closure date of July 31, 2025.”
That email also offered homeowners some options, which included turning over title to the mobile homes in exchange for extended tenancy until January 2026 along with state statute-required compensation for abandoned units.
Several Pines homeowners have told The Sun that there has been no confirmation of the closing date either from park owners or The Urban Group.
Pines Homeowners Association President Neil Lind told The Sun on July 2 that the attorneys for the HOA and Pines owners Pines Park Investors LLC are currently “in negotiations” but said he was not authorized to elaborate.
“I have not heard a thing,” Pines homeowner Mary Mox stated by text on July 3. “No one is talking.”
The Sun emailed Sarasota-based Attorney David Fredericks of Anderson, Givens and Fredericks P.A., who represents the HOA, for comment about the park closure on July 2, but did not receive a response.
The HOA filed a lawsuit in March in part to stop park closure and evictions. Park owners made a motion for the dismissal of that lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled on the motion on Monday, July 28.
Pines homeowners react to park closure
Debbie Bouts’ family has a long history with Pines Trailer Park. Her grandparents bought into the park in the 1970s and her parents traveled from Ohio to spend five months there each year for many years.
She said after the 2024 hurricanes, they drove two days from Ohio to replace floorboards in a unit with no electricity and hired someone to clean the trailer out.
“He’s (Shawn Kaleta) keeping us hostage in a way,” Bouts said. “I think this was the perfect storm for him to have the land grab. He was able to take it over. This is breaking our hearts, it’s such a part of the community and he has taken so much from us.”
Bouts is concerned that when people see the current unkempt condition of the park, they will think the homeowners didn’t care.
“We have tried to do a lot even without electricity and plumbing,” she said. “There are a lot of us who are willing to fight for what’s ours.”
Bouts said she would like a decision on the future of the park to be made soon.
“We’ve paid rent for a year on a place we’re not able to use and we can’t get an answer,” she said. “Our dream is to get our place back. There weren’t any services and we’ve been paying over $1,500 a month. We should have the basic amenities. This is a perpetual whirlpool I find myself in.”
Lorraine D’Agostino and her husband purchased a trailer in the park in 2020 as a vacation getaway from their home in New York. She has a flight booked at the end of July in case the park closure necessitates cleaning out their unit.
She said she would like to say to Kaleta, “Why couldn’t you be honest and communicate with us? If you had really sat down with us and talked to us, you would have gotten a response.”
Another Pines homeowner, who asked not to be named, wrote the following in a text to The Sun which reads in part: “For decades, Pines Trailer Park has been a safe haven – a quiet, close-knit community nestled in the heart of one of Florida’s most picturesque coastal towns. Generations of families have called this place home, with neighbors watching out for one another, sharing tools, memories and a deep-rooted sense of belonging. But today, that spirit is being tested like never before.”
The homeowner described a change in tone after Hurricanes Helene and Milton and wrote that 80 families were left waiting for clarity and guidance, but instead heard silence.
“Nothing from Mr. Kaleta, the man behind the LLC that now owns our park. Nothing from his investors. Just cold legal notices and whispers of evictions and threats.”
The homeowner said local municipalities seemed paralyzed to challenge Kaleta and seniors on fixed incomes in the parks don’t have the resources to fight back.
“When the new owners bought Pines Trailer Park, we understood that the sale contract included a stipulation: the park was to remain a mobile home community for five years. That was our safety net, our lifeline. And now it seems it’s being ripped away. Is anyone listening?
“Pines Trailer Park isn’t just land. It’s our home. It’s our history. It’s the place where our neighbors became family. We are not just property to be bought, bulldozed and sold off to the highest bidder. We are 80+ families and we deserve to be heard.”
That homeowner said on July 2 that he was told by The Urban Group that no lot rent payments would be accepted after July 31, as more than 80 homeowners wait for official confirmation of a closure date.
