PHOENIX — In just two days, a Phoenix mobile home park will close and all of its residents will be forced to move.
Periwinkle Mobile Home Park, near 27th Avenue and Camelback Road, is set to close Sunday.
Grand Canyon University bought the land in 2016, and the university told ABC15 the plans for redevelopment were clear.
But in May of 2022, residents at the park told ABC15 they didn't know.
RELATED: Mobile homes park residents unhappy GCU bought their property and is forcing them out
One year later, some families are still left scrambling trying to find a place to live.
Blanca Pulido said her dad has lived at Periwinkle for about seven years and has put extensive work into the home he owns.
“His upbringing was real tough, so this to him was success,” said Pulido.
However, the home is too old to move. So Friday, his daughter helped load up the last of his belongings.
“Now he's leaving behind what was going to be the rest of his life,” said Pulido
Her dad, for now, is staying with loved ones.
But residents at Periwinkle have been fighting to stay put for the last year.
Within that time, two other mobile home parks in Phoenix, have joined in the fight.
Each park is being redeveloped, but Periwinkle is the only location that is being redeveloped by GCU.
“His dad bought this trailer, and it means a lot to me,” said Esther Cook.
She and her husband David told ABC15 their mobile home is one of the few that can be moved.
But after more than 16 years at the park, they say their challenge is to pack their lives up at 81 years old.
“You don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to pack,” said Esther.
The couple said they are accepting assistance from various places.
In the last few months, a new state law passed to give families more money to relocate.
If residents’ homes are too old to move, they technically must abandon the home.
If they own the home and have a title, they can still get assistance.
Families who abandon their mobile homes could get $5,000 or $8,000 from the state.
Legislative District 4 Representative Matt Gress sponsored House Bill 2381 giving a possible $12,500 or $20,000 to people who choose to relocate their mobile homes.
The State Department of Housing said six residents from Periwinkle have applied for assistance and have been approved.
Three more are working through paperwork and the department expects they will get approval as well.
The department told ABC15 they can move people through the process in about a week and there’s still millions in funding available.
Residents from several of the mobile home parks told ABC15 back in March that the city of Phoenix had been stepping up, working with partners to find assistance funds and provide case management.
GCU also pledged assistance to those at Periwinkle.
“It’s just been a horrible experience,” said Alondra Ruiz. “I would never wish this on anybody.”
She and her husband are still searching for somewhere new to live.
“We just can't afford the rents out there,” said Ruiz. “They are very high.”
A friend of Ruiz helped her and her husband with the upfront cost of buying an RV, but she said they've been looking all week for a place to park it.
So far, the couple hasn’t found a location with availability.
“Today’s Friday, we have two days left,” said Ruiz.
Ruiz said they counted 20 families still at Periwinkle, but GCU told ABC15 there are only 11.
The university said the park's closing date is Sunday and there will be no change or additional extension.
ABC15 was told the university wouldn't be evicting people if they had entered into an agreement with GCU and were actively trying to find a new home.
But the school was not able to say if all the families remaining would meet those requirements.
Ruiz was one resident who said she had not entered into an agreement with the school
As Sunday looms, she told ABC15 she and other residents at Periwinkle are heartbroken.
“We are like a big family that is being destroyed,” said Ruiz.
A representative from GCU has released the following statement regarding the park closing:
“The date for the park closing is not changing or being extended. But GCU has no intention of immediately proceeding with eviction notices against any tenant who has entered into an agreement with GCU and is actively engaged in the process of relocating and vacating the property. That grace period will be specific to the circumstances of each individual tenant.
We continue to actively engage with each remaining family to create solutions that address their particular circumstances and we remain in close contact with the City of Phoenix. Thus far, we have been able to help every family that has been willing to work with the nonprofit housing expert, Trellis, that we hired to provide them assistance. However, some remaining families have still not engaged with Trellis in any meaningful way."
