In Key West's continued quest for residential housing at affordable prices, the mayor has identified a possible location.

Mayor Morgan McPherson has been meeting with the owners of Stadium Trailer Park on 14th Street, where nearly three acres of vacant land mark the entrance to the large mobile home park.

"I contacted Mr. Harding and asked if we could form a partnership for those two acres of presently unoccupied space," he said last week. "He has been responsive."

McPherson expects to meet with Ken Harding, whose family owns the mobile home park and a cattle ranch in Montana, sometime in the next week or so. Jeff Sharkey, the city's affordable housing consultant from the Tallahassee-based Capitol Alliance Group, also will be present at those meetings, McPherson said.

McPherson does not expect the city to buy the land from Harding, but envisions a long-term lease with the owner for the property.

"I'm also looking at partnering with Habitat for Humanity or the Housing Authority -- someone who knows about managing properties," McPherson said.

Sharkey on Friday emphasized that the discussions are preliminary, but added that he will meet with Harding in the coming weeks.

"My job is to look at property and site operations for possible affordable housing options," Sharkey said.

Harding said his family always has been interested in providing more affordable housing in Key West.

"And the site is pretty well-situated in relation to the new school, and within walking distance to the shopping centers," he said of Poinciana Elementary School, adding that Stadium's 278 mobile homes have been filling a need in the community since the mid-1970s. "We'd certainly like to continue to help fill the city's housing need."

In other housing news, McPherson also is looking at a few other sites in town that already include multifamily units, so no new construction would be required. Those discussions also are preliminary, and McPherson said he is not ready to discuss their locations.

mbolen@kweysenew.com