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More than 200 families from the Silver Court mobile home park, located on Calle Ocho in Little Havana in Miami, have until September to leave their homes after receiving a notice posted on their doors announcing the park's closure that was issued on March 11.
According to The Miami Herald, the landowner, 1989 Sunny Court LLC, a subsidiary of the California real estate firm Marquis Property Company, did not specify what development will replace the park, although they assured that it will bring "value" to South Florida.
The company acquired Silver Court along with the Sunnyside/West Haven park in West Miami in 2021 for a total of 50 million dollars.
To encourage early departures, the company offers $10,000 to those who leave before May 31, $5,000 to those who do so before July 15, and $2,500 to those who depart before the end of August, in addition to the state compensation of Florida, which ranges from $1,375 to $6,000 depending on the size of the trailer.
Economic annihilation
Most residents cannot afford to physically relocate their homes because they are cemented to the ground, making the process structurally impossible or prohibitively expensive.
Joseph Madera, a 46-year-old mathematics teacher and semi-official leader of the group of property owners seeking to challenge the terms of the eviction, described the situation as a "social catastrophe" and "economic annihilation." "Ten thousand dollars is a paltry amount. It's perhaps three months' rent," he said.
In the owners' meeting, a resident proposed amidst applause a compensation of $60,000 and a three-year deadline to vacate the park.
One of the most representative cases is that of Awilda Suriel, 43 years old, who saved for seven years working more than ten hours a day as an Uber driver to buy her trailer for $45,000 two years ago, and invested an additional $20,000 in improvements.
With three children and no savings left, she doesn’t know where she will go. “I thought I would live here for the rest of my life,” she said. “I have nowhere to go,” she added.
Also noteworthy is the case of Teresa Álvarez, a 93-year-old woman originally from Costa Rica who purchased her trailer in 1993 for $8,000 and improved it over more than thirty years, raising its value to about $50,000.
Lives alone, without children or a spouse. "I feel shattered, having to leave my little house, having to leave everything," she stated. After her story spread, a neighbor named Katia offered to take her in.
The republican state senator Ileana García, whose district includes Silver Court, described the residents as "a very, very vulnerable population" and stated she was "astonished by the lack of protections for mobile homes."
García promised to promote legislative reforms that include notice periods of nine to twelve months and compensations that reflect the appreciation of the value of the trailers.
The closure of Silver Court follows the pattern of the Li'l Abner Park in Sweetwater, which was vacated in 2025, affecting around 900 families, a process that left several elderly residents living on the streets.
In the previous legislative session, bills in both chambers of Florida aimed to more than double relocation and abandonment compensations, but both initiatives died in committee.
"We know they are the owners of the land," Madera said, "but there are ways to approach this that are not so emotionally, psychologically, and economically crushing."
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