In April 2019, a nonprofit called the Caritas Corporation—dedicated to acquiring, renovating and managing low-income communities, primarily in California and Oregon—purchased the dilapidated Shady Lane Mobile Home Park near Thermal for $225,000.
Their goal with Shady Lane—as it is with all of the low-income communities they own and operate—was to remodel the exterior spaces; repair the electrical, water and sewage infrastructure; and replace the living units to transform the park into a clean and comfortable home for its more than 140 residents.
After seven years of fundraising and construction, on April 21, a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the basic completion of the community overhaul. The event marked the successful return of 32 families who had lived in the “before” version of the park, along with the relocation of eight families from the nearby Oasis Mobile Home Park, into 40 new-and-improved mobile homes in what is now called Shady Lane Estates.
“When I was presented with the proposal, I bought it on the spot,” said Caritas CEO Randy Redwitz during a recent interview. “To be honest, I bought it because of the (low) price, but also because I wanted to do something dramatic there to help these residents.”
By all accounts, what his team at Caritas—with help from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Riverside County, the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), the city of Coachella and other entities—accomplished at Shady Lane is impressive.
More than 100 residents living at Shady Lane had to be relocated, at Caritas’ expense, for about a year, beginning in mid-2025. When they returned, they were welcomed back to one of 40 new manufactured homes (with two-, three- and four-bedroom options), with water and sewage lines newly connected to the CVWD’s expanding eastern Coachella Valley system. Residents had the opportunity to select the colors of their interior finishes, including flooring, countertops, backsplashes and cabinet. Caritas also donated a new bed and mattress to every resident, at a total cost of roughly $75,000.
Improvements made to the grounds of the mobile home park include new landscaping and pavement, and a children’s “tot-lot,” all in a garden-like setting. Caritas has promised that residents will soon be able to enjoy a new 1,500-square-foot clubhouse with a meeting room, office, restrooms and laundry room.
“We had a little bit of redesign on that,” Redwitz said, “but it’s going to be in a modular format, and we have the design pretty well done now. We’ll start implementing that, getting it manufactured and brought on site within very short order.”
But before all this life-altering work could be done, Redwitz and his team had to apply for state and Riverside County grants and loans to fund the numerous changes.
“We were very, very fortunate to get grant funding for all of that renovation,” Redwitz said. “That took a lot of work, (and) we were the only ones that got the funding. … It paid off in in spades.”
The initial major loan, for $3 million, was secured through the California Housing and Community Development Department in 2021. It wasn’t until last year that the rest of the $12 million needed to renovate Shady Lane was obtained.
Caritas was formed in 1996 to buy and operate low-income mobile home parks. According to its website, it currently owns or manages 31 communities—27 in California, and four in Oregon.
“(Caritas’) express purpose was to buy or to operate in affordable-housing communities,” Redwitz said. “It singularly picked mobile home communities as its means to affordable housing. … What we have typically done is we buy the communities through tax-exempt bond financing, and we have a Standard and Poor’s rating on those bonds of an A-minus. So, we have a really strong bond rating, and we use that to finance the acquisition of the communities, or in certain circumstances, the refinance of communities that we’ve owned for a long period of time. All the dollars involved are poured into the communities.”
Redwitz said Caritas never sells its properties, and usually acquires one or two a year; three are currently under negotiation for purchase, he added.
“Shady Lane was a bit of a unique property,” he said “… We typically always go in and do a lot of maintenance, (and) fix up to the communities that we buy. Shady Lane was taken to the extreme in regards to repairs and replacements, so we’re very proud of Shady Lane. In all of our years of work, it’s probably our single biggest achievement—and the most dramatic achievement, for sure.”
Riverside County District 4 Supervisor V. Manuel Perez spoke at the April 21 ribbon-cutting. The county provided grant funding for the renovation, as well as administrative and bureaucratic support.
“Caritas, it’s called in English,” Perez said. “If you want to say it in Spanish, ‘caritas’ (means) faces. These are the faces (of this community’s residents) that we’re working with, that we’re supporting, self-helping and empowering. … We’re not done yet. … This is only one project. Go down the street, not too far, (and) you’re going to see dilapidated housing as well. There’s a lot to be done.”
Coachella Mayor Frank Figueroa talked at the ceremony about the city’s efforts to get funding to extend the CVWD lines down Avenue 54, and then down into Shady Lane.
“This is a project that was a long time coming, and incorporated a lot of different agencies. … This park was in bad, bad condition. Residents were not getting the services they needed,” Figueroa said. “… It’s the end of this project, but there’s more to come. There are more projects. This opens up the avenue, because now that the infrastructure is here, we can move on and continue to grow and improve communities.”
“I can’t control whether there’s a willing seller. And if there isn’t, I can’t really help.”
Caritas CEO Randy Redwitz
While both Perez and Figueroa mentioned the need for renovations and infrastructure at other eastern Coachella Valley mobile-home parks, Redwitz said there’s only so much Caritas can do.
“Sometimes cities come to us and say, ‘Can you help us with a particular property?’” said Redwitz. “The problem is that the city understands the problem, but they don’t control the property. So, I have to respond and say, ‘Yes, I’d buy that property and do what you want to do with it, but I can’t control whether there’s a willing seller. And if there isn’t, I can’t really help.’
“We’ve talked a little bit to the property owners next door to Shady Lane, which (provides) a rather dramatic contrast, showing the before and after. … If they’re willing to sell, I’d certainly be up to the challenge of taking on that community, knowing what we did with Shady Lane. But that’s their call and their prerogative, not mine to force. I’d be willing to look at any project, anywhere, at any time.”
Redwitz said all of Caritas’ properties are rent-controlled—either government imposed, or self-imposed. Redwitz estimated the average monthly rent for the pad on which a Caritas resident’s double-wide motor home sits is $500.
“Turnover is very rare,” Redwitz said. “Generally, the turnover occurs by the selling of the mobile home, so the current resident stays in that mobile home until it sells, and then when it sells, there’s a new occupant.”
Caritas Chief Operations Officer Tracy Bejotte said at the ceremony that the Coachella Valley badly needs more affordable housing.
“The average two-bedroom apartment in this county is almost … $2,300 (per month),” Bejotte said. “The average mobile home space rent in Coachella Valley is between $800 and $1,000. The residents at Shady Lane pay about $375. We’re proud to be able to provide this housing.”
As the ribbon-cutting ceremony neared its end, a few Shady Lane residents thanked the assembled crowd.
Speaking in Spanish with an English translator at his side, resident Juan Beltran told the gathering: “We’re very grateful for everything that has happened. It was hard before, but whatever is now, it’s like a dream. We’re grateful to everyone who made this possible, and truly we’re very grateful for these people that are truly helping others.”
