Storm shelter in a MHP

Hi All,

Has anybody installed an above ground and an underground storm shelter in their park before? Is an above ground one effective? What does the cost look like for both usually? I am thinking about maybe putting one in mine. But wanted to hear your thoughts :slight_smile:

Thank you,
Gulliver

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Never did it. However your comment is intriguing that you say “I am thinking…” This is not a personal preference matter. Either it is required by law or it is not. If it is not, why do it? You would have to maintain it, keep vandals and kids out of it, and take liability for it. I would stay away.

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I have some park owning clients that have installed them. They did so not out of necessity, but because it was both a value to their tenants and improved the livability of their parks. Both who did it and I’ve talked to are happy with their decision to do so.

That said, they creat no direct revenue. You can’t/ shouldn’t charge access or membership fees. I’d say if it improves the appeal of your community, investigate the cost. Upkeep is an additional cost too. There’s many examples of abandoned storm shelters becoming health hazards / attractive nuisances in parks, too.

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I recently worked on a project where we removed the existing storm shelter. It was not required by the state or city and had become a nuisance issue. This one was located in the far corner of the site and I don’t think it had enough “eyes” on it everyday. If it was located in a more visible location than I don’t think it would have been such a nuisance.

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I spoke to my county EMA manager years ago about this and he said it would be nearly impossible, financially and structurally, to build a structure above ground that would be large enough for a mass storm shelter and still structurally hold up so underground is the only way to go. It is recommended that the minimum is 7 square feet per person and if you think of it, that is really packing people in.

I was thinking of building a new office and putting a basement in, but I would need an 1800 square foot basement with emergency lighting, handicapped accessibility and a way to police it so that it would be open when necessary, and off limits at other times

Ohio recently had a program that offered a 75% rebate on homeowners installing a safe room, but the program was such a sort lived timeline that few were able to take advantage, but I was considering installing them thru out the park. I was told that it was for homeowners only, not businesses
It is also an issue that they would have to be handicapped accessible.

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Ok good info! Thank you for sharing.

In Minnesota a storm shelter is mandated by law. The storm shelter costs about $30k for a 54 person shelter. This is a precast type of product. I have found that using the storm shelters as a multi purpose building is a way to create a good safe neighborhood. We use the building tutoring, red cross blood drives, church groups, food shelves, ect. All this will creates neighborhoods where people want to live. Over 800 units with no vacancies.

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Ron Thomas, an Ohio community owner and retailer put a massive concrete shelter in his best community about 10 years ago. He has retired but you might talk to his son. I would also talk to whoever is providing your insurance as well. Years ago, we killed a bill to require shelters in Illinois communities by having members of the insurance industry discuss what the increases in insurance premiums would be if a community put in a storm shelter as our “good government” reason to oppose such legislation. Those premium increases were very significant. (Kurt - would you jump in on this?)

I’d agree that taken nationwide, you’ll have more liability and problems with storm shelters in parks than you’ll have lives saved by using them. If you visit those shelters 30 years old and older now, they are mostly abandoned, attractive nuisances that the local teens enjoy. But actively lobbying against legislation mandating park owners provide storm shelters that’s not yet filed in many states would be a full time job.

All this said, I’ve got many park owning clients that report their storm shelters have been an excellent addition to their park and that they are proud of the extra safety they provide. If you build a proper one and manage/control it professionally - like my good friends Kim and David do - they add enticements for tenants to come and stay at the park.