Frequently Asked Questions: 

Preserving Affordable Housing and Supporting Resident Ownership of the Aspen-Basalt and Mountain Valley Mobile Home Parks

 

What’s happening?

Two mobile home parks, Aspen Basalt (between Old Town Basalt and Willits) and Mountain Valley (near Carbondale), have been listed for sale for a combined $42 million. A corporate mobile home park operator has made an offer at this price. If this private buyer succeeds, monthly lot rents are expected to double or even triple—pricing residents out of their homes.  Therefore, the residents are trying to buy the property themselves with the help of a nonprofit that specializes in this.  However, they need significant help to make a competitive offer, so the entire community is coming together to help. 

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Why is this a problem?

If the parks are sold to the private buyer:

• Lot rents could rise to $2,000–$3,000/month, beyond what most residents can afford. 

• A private park owner can enact their own rules, such as those based on documentation status, occupancy limits, etc.  OR they could redevelop.

• Families could face displacement and possible homelessness.

• The Valley could lose close to 140 naturally occurring, deeply affordable homes.

• Schools will lose students. Employers will lose workers. Communities will fracture.

• The buyer could redevelop the Basalt park to low density residential (the Carbondale park is restricted to MHP but does not cap the rental rate).  Once lost, they are nearly impossible to replace due to land costs, zoning barriers, and community resistance to new MHP or affordable housing development.

 

Nearly 500 people, including over 150 children, live in these communities. Most residents (90%) are Hispanic, earn below 80% of the area median income, and many have lived in these parks for over a decade. These are the essential workers—construction crews, housekeepers, landscapers—who keep the Roaring Fork Valley running. If displaced, the impacts will ripple across local schools, businesses, traffic patterns, and community cohesion.

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What are the residents doing about it?

Colorado law gives residents the right to submit a competing offer when their park is listed for sale and requires the seller to “negotiate in good faith”. They have 120 days to organize and make that offer. The deadline is August 7, 2025. Residents are working with Thistle ROC, a nonprofit whose mission is to help mobile home communities purchase their parks and become Resident-Owned Communities (ROCs).

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Who is Thistle ROC and what’s the model?

Thistle ROC is the Colorado affiliate of ROC USA, a national nonprofit that helps residents purchase their communities. The model includes:

• Immediate legal and organizational support to create resident ownership structures.

• Long-term (10+ year) engagement to help ensure successful self-governance.

• Access to below-market-rate loans from ROC USA Capital, a CDFI.

Thistle ROC ensures parks remain permanently affordable and resident-led.

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Why is this the right solution?

Resident ownership through the ROC model is:

• Proven: Hundreds of successful conversions nationwide.

• Permanent: Deed restrictions ensure long-term affordability.

• Empowering: Residents gain control, not just housing security.

• Efficient: Preservation is far more cost-effective than new development.

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How much funding is needed and why?

Thistle ROC has an acquisition price of $46.5 million, which includes the purchase price, $42 million, plus funding needed to close, address immediate capital improvements, and to establish capital and operating reserves which set the residents up for more successful ownership.  ROC USA will lend up to $36.5 million, with a stack that has varying and increasing interest rates for each chunk of lending needed.   The more subsidy provided the less lending needed, therefore lower repayments.

• With $20 million in subsidy, rents can remain near $1,300–$1,500 per month—a manageable increase.

• With $15 million in subsidy, rents will increase to $1,300 - $2000 per month.

• MV needs $6.5 M in subsidy to hold steady rates.

• AB needs $13.5 M in subsidy to hold steady rates. 

• ThistleROC and ROC Capital will work for an equitable apportionment of subsidy between the parks.

• These numbers are subject to change as we get more information 

 

Permanently protected, permanently affordable.

Every contributing partner will stipulate a restriction on the funds that ensures the mobile home parks are preserved as a property for affordable housing in perpetuity.  This will likely be a deed restriction on the land and other provisions that require occupancy by workforce, or retired workforce, and their families. 

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Where is the funding coming from?

No one entity/person/organization can supply the $20 million needed.  But we can do this together if we all provide what we can.  Therefore, we are pursuing a multi-sector strategy, including:

• Local governments: $11 million committed or expected from Aspen, Snowmass, Pitkin County, Basalt, Eagle County, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs. 

• Anchor donors: Atlantic Aviation has already committed $1 million. Aspen One is contributing $500,000.

• Grants/Loans: Up to $5M being pursued from the state, but these are not guaranteed or immediate.

• Philanthropy and employers: Seeking $4.5M–$7.5M from businesses and community members.

 

We need more partners to step forward—now—to meet the offer, prevent displacement, and preserve affordable housing.

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What’s the timeline?

• Mid-April: MHPs for sale - Private offer of $42 million, with short due diligence/closing periods.

• August 7: Legal deadline for residents to make their offer.

• Fall 2025: Target for closing and finalizing the purchase.

Time is of the essence. Commitments are needed within weeks, even if funds are transferred later.

 

How can I help?

We are seeking:

• Philanthropic partners, community leaders, and employers to commit funds.

• Letters of commitment now, with funds to be called when needed.

• Strategic gifts of $100,000–$1 million+, which set a powerful examples.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to prevent mass displacement and shape the Valley’s future with values of equity, inclusion, and community.

 

Your donation to this effort through West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition is 100% tax deductible.

 

Why are mobile home parks considered "naturally occurring affordable housing" (NOAH)? 

MHPs provide unsubsidized, lower-cost housing to low- and moderate-income families.

• Unlike income-restricted housing built with public funds, mobile home parks are affordable by design because they offer higher density at lower cost. Residents own or rent modest manufactured homes on small lots, allowing more households per acre than single-family developments, while keeping infrastructure and maintenance costs low.

• These two MHPs house longtime residents and essential workers—from construction and service industry employees to school staff and retirees—who otherwise cannot afford to live near their jobs due to the extremely high cost of traditional housing in our resort communities.

• In the Roaring Fork Valley, these parks are some of the last remaining affordable housing options that are close to schools and transit and within commuting distance of job hubs like Aspen, Snowmass, and Basalt.

 

There are 54 MHPs from Aspen to Parachute that house ~ 2500 units.  If we estimate 4 people/unit, which is the average in the two RFV MHPs in this discussion, then 10,000 residents live in MHPs in our region.  That’s more than 10% of our population.

 

Mobile home parks are a cornerstone of affordable housing in Colorado—not by policy, but by market reality. Preserving them is a cost-effective, equity-driven strategy to protect families, support the economy, and keep communities intact.

 

For more information contact:
April Long
Executive Director, West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition
📧 april@wmrhousing.org