Prairie Lake Estates originally opened in the late 1990s and is now a 70-site, resident-owned manufactured home community.
But that transition didn’t happen overnight. We formed the Prairie Lake Estates Homeowners Cooperative and started on the path to resident-ownership in 2012. That’s when, with the help of Northcountry Cooperative Foundation and ROC USA, LLC, we purchased and took control of our community on July 15, 2013.
Now, the resident-owned community (ROC) is not only a successful business, but also a thriving neighborhood.
The process of the resident-owned community buying the land beneath our neighborhood brought this community closer together. Not only do we know far more of our neighbors than ever before, but we look out for one another, too. And with no outside landlord to report to, we’re the envy of other nearby manufactured home communities.
Our Member households elect our Board of Directors, which works with a property management firm and also appoints various volunteer committees to help with special projects, celebrations, community improvements and more. The Board submits a budget every year, and the entire Membership votes on it and any changes to the rent before the budget becomes official. We’re running the business that is our community on our terms, by our rules, for the betterment of ourselves and our neighbors.
Prairie Lake Estates is a well-established community in Kenosha, Wisc., and couldn’t be better situated. The town of Kenosha boasts the Kenosha Transit, which can take you all around the city to parks, museums, grocery stores, restaurants and various other locations. The Metra train is also conveniently located near Prairie Lake Estates and travels south to Chicago. The city also offers Care-a-Van, a service in place to help people with disabilities who cannot use the transit bus. The events, activities and programs in Kenosha cater to people’s variety of interests. Kenosha has beautiful outdoor attractions such as golfing, parks, farmers markets and the Southport and Pierhead lighthouses. There are also movie theaters, art museums and countless festivals.
Since we voted to become a resident-owned community, we have worked hard to improve our community. We have built committees which focus on new signage, planting new flowers around the community, upgrading our offices and more. We have also developed a social committee responsible for holding events throughout the year. We are so excited to continue collectively making changes to benefit our community.
Prairie Lake Estates is a well-established community for people who enjoy a welcoming neighborhood in an ideal location.
Ask anyone who lives in Prairie Lake Estates, and we’re sure they’ll tell you it’s a little slice of heaven.
Prairie Lake Estates
MDB_2900
MDB_3213
