The Thompson family bought two mobile homes in Chesterfield County, only to find out that the trailer park was to be closed. Now they are desperately seeking a new place to live.

When Joshua and Christopher Abt-Barnett purchased two aging mobile homes in a Chesterfield County trailer park with the help of their mother and stepfather, it was supposed to be a fresh start for the family. It ended up being an enormous complication -- yet another problem for a down-on-their-luck family.

The family purchased the trailers in the Americana Park off Jefferson Davis Highway last August. Just days later, after shelling out $15,000 for the two trailers and signing leases for $303 a month for each, they learned that the park was closing to make way for a new mixed-use development. All 240 families would have to be out by the end of 2008.

"It's been a long series of unfortunate events," said Christopher, 20, who moved into one of the trailers with his girlfriend, Nina Blake, and baby daughter, Midnight, in February after the family, using savings and a recent small inheritance, shelled out $8,000 to fix them up.

Now the family, like 170 others remaining in the park, is focused on its next big challenge: finding another place to live.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch, as part of its ongoing coverage of affordable-housing issues, will follow the stories of several of the families as they search for new homes.

. . .

Barbara Thompson, 50, decided to help buy the trailers to provide homes for her two sons and to have a place closer to medical facilities for a family plagued by health problems. She still has a home in the Northern Neck where she and her husband, Ed, spend weekends.

Ed, 49, and a former homebuilder, crushed three of his vertebrae falling from a roof in a work-related accident in 2006 and now receives workers' compensation. While undergoing testing for his back, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Barbara, a former nurse, is in remission from breast cancer.

Christopher struggles with knee problems that he says he can't afford to have treated. Nina is in the midst of a high-risk pregnancy because of high blood pressure and is due for back surgery immediately afterward. They have avoided marriage only so Nina can continue to collect Medicaid.

The family found two trailers for sale by private owners in Americana, a reasonably well-maintained park in Chester compared to some others along U.S. 1 that have decayed dramatically over the years. There was no hint that it might close.

"They told us right after we signed the lease," said Ed Thompson, the father-in-law.

"We never would have gotten a place in here if we knew. It was kind of like a day late and a dollar short."

Fortunately, Christopher landed a job doing maintenance and landscaping several months ago at Pre Con Inc. in Chester. Before that, steady jobs were scarce, and times were tough.

"I had a pretty bad streak for a number of years, and it took me a while to find this job," said Christopher, who holds a General Educational Development diploma.

Including overtime, Christopher's new job brings home about $500 a week.

Josh, 23, lives in the other trailer and shares it with Ed and Barbara when they are in town during the week bouncing between medical appointments at VCU Medical Center and St. Mary's Hospital. He works at a fast-food restaurant in Colonial Heights as a cook and dishwasher and recently had his hours cut.

"My mom bought the trailer because she wanted me to have an actual four walls to myself," said Josh, a high school graduate. "Needless to say, my job doesn't come with the most glamorous paycheck."

And so, for the family, it was yet another blow when they were told in April that the move-out date for residents had been moved up two months to Oct. 31.

Faced with limited options compounded by aging trailers that won't be accepted by many mobile-home parks, the family, like many others in the park, is desperately seeking solutions with the move-out date looming.

Americana has offered $4,000, the cost of a typical trailer relocation, to residents who stay put through September if they take the trailer with them. But about a dozen have already abandoned their trailers and moved on.

. . .

Trailer parks, a longtime piece of the affordable-housing puzzle, are a dying breed along Jefferson Davis Highway in Chesterfield. About 130 families were displaced in 1997 to make way for a Lowe's store, and about 30 more will soon be kicked out of nearby Parkway Village where a Wawa will be built. A recent rezoning signaled the end of the road for the occupants of 51 trailers at Young's Park, formerly known as Flippo.

And though many new mixed-use projects, such as the one replacing Americana, contain some element of affordable housing, they are often out of reach for families such as the ones living in the trailer parks.

In Americana's place, developers will build Moore's Lake Commons with 385 high-rent apartments, 60 work-force-level apartments and a million square feet of commercial and industrial space. Rezoning of the 190 acres -- the nail in the coffin for the trailer park -- was approved in February.

T.K. Somanath, executive director for the Better Housing Coalition, said affordable housing is of increasing concern in Chesterfield and other parts of the Richmond area.

"It's easy to get rid of the mobile-home parks, but it's challenging to [develop] policies to accommodate the needs of many of the families," Somanath said. He pointed to housing-assistance programs in Fairfax County in Virginia and Montgomery County in Maryland as examples of localities tackling the issue of affordable housing -- initiative he finds lacking in the Richmond area.

"Currently, none of the communities in the Richmond area has proactive policies," he said. "We're hoping we'll see some changes soon," he said.

Tom Jacobson, director of revitalization for Chesterfield, said the county plans to develop more definitive guidelines on affordable housing in developing a countywide comprehensive plan over the next two years.

"Right now, our emphasis is on preserving the older neighborhoods that contain our affordable-housing units," he said.

Jacobson said the county has about 13,000 single-family homes assessed at less than $150,000. There are roughly 2,000 mobile homes in parks throughout the county. Few of the parks have vacancies.

. . .

Unable to find a place for their trailers in Chesterfield, the Thompsons hope to secure two lots at a park in eastern Henrico County that will cost $75 extra a month for each. They plan to ride it out at Americana until September to collect the money.

"We just hope the park follows through on their promise," Josh said. "Not only that, it's just getting all the money together for the move -- it's daunting."

Josh said he'll have to give up his job and look for a new one when they move. Chris will keep his but isn't looking forward to the 30-minute commute.

"The gas is what's going to kill me," he said.

To help ease the pains of relocation, the Jefferson Davis Association, a nonprofit organization pushing for the revitalization of the corridor, is working with the county, social services and other organizations to help the displaced residents. The association has established a coalition for Americana residents and is working with local churches to adopt families.

"There's still a lot of assistance to be provided," said H. Russell Harris, the county's manager of community development services. "We're trying to identify the specific needs of each family in there. The real issue is trying to find housing in a range that will fit their budget."

Nina said she would prefer to find an apartment in Chesterfield but said it would have to be no more than $450.

"I just can't worry about it too much," Nina said. "I have too much other stuff to worry about."

"We'll be fine," Chris assured her. "We always end up fine."
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.