The families who call the Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park home are being lauded for their “can-do” perseverance, leading to yet another likely success story in the push toward resident-owned parks in the Roaring Fork Valley.
After an extensive fundraising effort over the course of just a few months earlier this year, residents of the 98-home park between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, organized as the Sopris Mountain Collective, put a $23 million offer on the property just in time to meet a June 13 deadline.
That deadline was important, as it fell at the end of a 120-day period of time spelled out under Colorado state law for residents to put together purchase offers on their parks when they get put up for sale.
The offer was accepted two days later by Cavern Springs’ corporate owners, Maryland-based Horizon Land Co., staving off an offer from another private investor that was put on hold, per state law, while the park residents attempted to come up with the money.
As with most mobile home parks, the physical structures are owned by the residents but the land beneath them is leased from a private landlord. When a park gets sold to outside investors, rents often increase without much notice, and there’s no guarantee the property will even remain a mobile home park.
This was the Cavern Springs’ residents second attempt to buy the park, after another effort a few years ago was unsuccessful.
Cavern Springs got a big boost in early June when the Colorado Health Foundation awarded a $4.5 million grant. Another $5.5 million came from local governments in the valley, including Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Snowmass Village and Pitkin County. On top of that were significant private donations made through the Mountain Voices Project, and indirectly through the Aspen Community Foundation Housing Justice Fund.
Residents are prepared to take on a $12 million loan arranged through Colorado-based Thistle ROC (Resident Owned Communities).
Closing is slated for October, barring any unforeseen obstacles. It would become the fourth mobile home park between Basalt and Glenwood Springs to come into resident ownership in the last year.
“For me, and for so many families who call Cavern Springs home, moving past this hurdle brings hope and peace of mind,” resident and collective board member Maria Judith Alvarez said.
“It means we are one step closer to ensuring that working families can remain in the community they have helped build. This isn’t just about purchasing property — it’s about creating long-term stability, dignity and opportunity for current and future generations.
“We are deeply grateful to everyone who has believed in this vision and helped us move closer to the finish line.”
Board Vice President and 37-year park resident Monica Muniz said it was nice to be able to put the property under contract and enjoy some down time for a change after weeks of endless meetings.
“We were so busy and hands-on involved in putting this together that it’s nice to see everybody just enjoying their summer before school starts again,” Muniz said.
The work isn’t over, though, and once the park is in the residents’ hands the work will be ongoing as they become property owners in charge of everything from the water and sewer system to streets and other neighborhood infrastructure and operations.
The collective is still working to raise another $1.8 million that will be needed to establish a capital improvements and maintenance fund for the park. As part of the closing, the residents are awaiting a capital needs report from the sellers to help determine all that needs to be done on that front.
“We’ll have another big community meeting soon, because we are just learning how to navigate these next steps,” Muniz said.
It’s a case study in what it takes for residents of mobile home parks to band together and take on such a daunting endeavor. That was echoed repeatedly during an Aug. 3 affordable housing forum at the Aspen Chapel, sponsored by Mountain Voices, the Aspen Jewish Congregation and Snowmass Chapel.
“We are not developers, we are not investors, we are not housing analysts,” explained Muniz, who was part of the panel discussion. “What we have is the will to improve our housing situation.
“I do want to be clear, that the organizing itself, the decisions, the meetings, the personal sacrifices, the work of holding a hundred families together through a year of uncertainty, that is us!” Muniz said.
Katherine Coe, project organizer for Mountain Voices, added that the Cavern Springs effort is “what broad-based community organizing looks like when it works.”
However, she said more needs to change at the state level through legislation, including extending the time park residents have to come up with the funding to buy their parks. More cooperation between local entities also needs to happen to help park residents organize, Coe said.
An audio recording of the Aug. 3 affordable housing forum was generously provided by Aspen Public Radio and Aspen Journalism reporter Eleanor Bennett.