Lakeside Crossing residents hope new owner brings relief

Residents of Lakeside Crossing hope the recent sale of their subdivision to a publicly traded company that operates 250 similar properties in 30 states will lead to solutions for problems that caused them to picket at community entrances.

“Lakeside can be a beautiful place if maintained properly,” resident Jim Epstein wrote in an email. “If the new owners do the next right thing and make residents proud of their community, where they can afford to retire and live out their remaining lives, everyone will be happy.”

The new owners want satisfied residents as well, said Jonathan Colman, executive vice president of Sun Communities, who engineered the purchase of Lakeside Crossing for his company.

Colman said he’s aware of the problems at Lakeside, but is not making any commitments for changes yet.

“We take a long, hard look at the way things were done,” he said, and then either make changes or let things stand as they are.

Problems in the community along Singleton Ridge Road near U.S. 501 surfaced a couple of years ago when residents began complaining about the structure of lot rentals at Lakeside and how it made it nearly impossible to sell a home.

Residents in Lakeside own their homes, but rent the land they sit on. The lot rent acts as residents’ homeowners association dues.

The rent rose annually, meaning the longest term residents paid the most. At the same time, the former owner offered new residents a discounted initial lot rental as an enticement to move into the neighborhood.

Epstein said the lot rental discrepancies forced some residents who needed to move due to changing circumstances to sell their homes at discounts up to $90,000.

“The entire community is suffering and homes here are priced well below their market value,” he said.

Additionally, Epstein said the former owner became disinterested in the subdivision and quit maintaining the property.

The picketing, he thinks, was the frosting on the cake in solidifying the sale.

Colman said he’s been looking for Strand property to add to Sun Communities’ portfolio for more than 10 years, and Lakeside Crossing was the first he’d found that met the company’s needs and was for sale.

He said that 419 of the lots at Lakeside are occupied and that there are approximately 275 vacant lots remaining.

“Certainly we’re going to be in communication with the residents,” he said. “It’s in our best interest for the people of the community to be in support of us.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Lakeside Crossing residents hope new owner brings relief."