The Prairie Lake Estates Story
Our board members celebrate purchasing our community in 2013.
Prairie Lake Estates opened in the late 1990s and has grown up over the years into a 70-site, resident-owned manufactured home community.
But that transition didn't happen overnight. We began the move toward controlling our own destiny in October 2012. That's when, with the help of Northcountry Cooperative Foundation and ROC USA®, we formed the Prairie Lake Estates Homeowners Cooperative that would, on July 15, 2013, purchase and take control of our community.
Now, Prairie Lake Estates is not only a successful business, but also a thriving neighborhood. The process of the cooperative buying the land beneath our homes 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 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 community improvements before the budget becomes official. We're running the multi-million dollar business that is our community on our terms, by our rules, for the betterment of ourselves and our neighbors.
Prairie Lake Estates 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 goes south to Chicago. There is even a 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 a variety of different people and interests. Kenosha has beautiful outdoor attractions, such as golfing, parks, farmers markets, and the Southport and Pierhead lighthouses. Plus there's 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've started to build committees that will focus on putting up new signs, planting flowers, upgrading our office and more. We have begun to develop a social committee that will be responsible for holding events throughout the year.
Ask anyone who lives in Prairie Lake Estates Homeowners Cooperative, and we're sure they'll tell you it's a little slice of heaven.
But that transition didn't happen overnight. We began the move toward controlling our own destiny in October 2012. That's when, with the help of Northcountry Cooperative Foundation and ROC USA®, we formed the Prairie Lake Estates Homeowners Cooperative that would, on July 15, 2013, purchase and take control of our community.
Now, Prairie Lake Estates is not only a successful business, but also a thriving neighborhood. The process of the cooperative buying the land beneath our homes 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 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 community improvements before the budget becomes official. We're running the multi-million dollar business that is our community on our terms, by our rules, for the betterment of ourselves and our neighbors.
Prairie Lake Estates 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 goes south to Chicago. There is even a 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 a variety of different people and interests. Kenosha has beautiful outdoor attractions, such as golfing, parks, farmers markets, and the Southport and Pierhead lighthouses. Plus there's 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've started to build committees that will focus on putting up new signs, planting flowers, upgrading our office and more. We have begun to develop a social committee that will be responsible for holding events throughout the year.
Ask anyone who lives in Prairie Lake Estates Homeowners Cooperative, and we're sure they'll tell you it's a little slice of heaven.
