LYNNWOOD — It’s not a done deal, but it’s getting closer.

A developer agreed in writing this week to sell two Lynnwood mobile home parks to a Snohomish County housing agency, which will convert them into affordable housing for older adults.

But the buyer, Housing Authority of Snohomish County, must come up with $9 million by April 1, 2007, to complete the purchase.

“It is a good deal for everybody,” said the seller, Lynnwood developer Mike Echelbarger. “I am particularly impressed with the housing authority never having much dealings with them in the past. They appear to be a well-run organization.”

Deal or no deal, Echelbarger made it clear that he will continue to prepare The Squire, 4515 176th St. SW, and Kingsbury East, 17408 44th Ave. W., for redevelopment. He intends to build 69 houses on the 11-acre site if the housing authority doesn’t raise the money for the sale.

Echelbarger said the move is supposed to pressure the politicians to act quickly and protect his investment if they don’t.

“Talk is cheap,” Echelbarger said. “All of the politicians are talking about doing something and it is time to do it or not.”

According to state law, Echelbarger must give mobile home park residents 12 months notice to leave.

In a July 10 letter, Echelbarger told residents about the deal and his intentions.

“Shortly after Aug. 11, you will all receive the Official Notice of Park Closure and notice of 12 months to vacate,” Echelbarger wrote to tenants. “Obviously, the Housing Authority’s purchase will negate this notice. Let me repeat that, if the Housing Authority buys the parks, then no one will be required to move and I will not be requiring anyone to move before the Housing Authority has absolutely exhausted their efforts to fund the purchase.”

Save Our Seniors Home Owners’ Association, or S.O.S., which represents the mobile home owners involved, is urging residents to have a “plan B” — a place to move to next spring — in case the deal falls through.

“We want people to know that this is not a done deal,” said Kylin Parks, spokeswoman for S.O.S. “We get the impression that people think this is a done deal. We still have to get HASCO (Housing Authority of Snohomish County) the money.”

Parks is concerned the warning is not being heeded.

“Some have gotten on waiting lists (for other housing.) Others, I can not get through their head is that it is not a done deal,” Parks said. “All you can do is keep saying it.”

Finding the money

With a signed sales agreement in place, the housing authority, local politicians and mobile home park residents are turning their attention toward raising the $9 million.

The Housing Authority of Snohomish County can produce about $3.5 million in the form of low interest loans, said executive director Bob Davis.

For the remainder, the housing authority is requesting $3.5 million from the state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development and an additional $2 million from the county Human Services Department. The housing authority should receive an answer from state officials by the end of the year and county officials in the spring.

“We, in the state, have been talking about mobile home park preservation for 25 years. If we can’t find a way to preserve these two parks, then we are not really serious about saving communities like this,” Davis said. “Everyone I have spoken to is sympathetic … so hopefully we will be able to make this all work.”

S.O.S. Home Owners’ Association is pressuring county and state officials to fund the purchase. The group recently gathered 1,254 signatures on a petition to present to state lawmakers in the near future.

Among state lawmakers, Rep. Brian Sullivan, D-Mukilteo, is taking the lead and supporting the housing authority’s application. The state legislature could also approve one-time funding for the purchase, Sullivan said.

“I am extremely optimistic,” Sullivan said. “I think this is just a matter of time.”