Pitkin County signals $3 million commitment to mobile home parks purchase

More local governments are joining an effort to save two Roaring Fork mobile home parks from a $42 million sale that could raise rent significantly or result in the eviction of the residents. 

The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously signed a letter of intent to grant $3 million to the effort. On Tuesday, Aspen City Council also signaled its intent to give the same amount. 

Additional municipalities either have already given or are considering promising financial support. Basalt announced a change to its commitment to the project from $250,000 to $500,000 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, private businesses are getting on board in the Roaring Fork Valley. As previously reported, Atlantic Aviation has promised $1 million toward the effort. 

Mountain Valley Mobile Home Park in Carbondale and Aspen Basalt Mobile Home Park in Basalt are listed for sale at $42 million. Through a process facilitated by a Boulder-based nonprofit, Thistle Community Housing, the mobile homes are hoping to make an offer to buy the parks themselves and create a “resident-owned community.” 

To do this and maintain current rent levels, $20 million needs to be raised. According to Pitkin County Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury, $10 million has been committed to the project so far. 

Due to Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Act, residents have 120 days from being notified that park owners intend to sell to make a “competitive offer.” For many local governments, including Pitkin County, this tight timeframe is the reason why this money is being promised through letters of intent rather than a traditional appropriation process. 

A letter of intent does not, however, relieve the board of the required appropriation process. Its purpose is to signal to Thistle that Pitkin County is planning on committing money before the formal process has been conducted. Pitkin County will still need to appropriate the funds, which will require multiple hearings and public comment. 

While the mobile home parks are outside Pitkin County, county staff and board members acknowledged that this commitment is part of past goals to create housing for Pitkin county. 

“The goal of our organization as Pitkin County with our new property tax is to create 250 new units in the next 10 years,” said Community Resilience Manager Ashley Perl at the Wednesday commissioner meeting. “I think the board and staff recognize that if we let these units go, which is 139, we put ourselves back quite a bit in our goal.”

According to Maria Romero, a Mountain Valley Mobile Home Park resident who came to speak on behalf of the mobile home park residents, a significant majority of workers at these parks work in Pitkin County.

“Out of all those people that live there, 90% of them come to work in Aspen,” said Romero. “We desperately want to stay there in our homes. The people that come up to work here work hard jobs — construction, gardening, cleaning windows …” 

All the commissioners in attendance were enthusiastic in their support for the mobile home parks purchase, with commissioners Patti Clapper, Greg Poschman, Francie Jacober, and Kelly McNicholas Kury echoing similar sentiment. 

“The priority is not to necessarily build new housing but maintain housing that exists or buy down deed restrictions,” said Clapper. “I am really supportive of this effort. I think it makes better sense than building new, big projects that cost a lot of money in today’s market.”