Residents acquire ownership of manufactured home community in Aspen Basalt for $26.5 million.

Aspen Basalt Homeowner’s Cooperative joins other Resident Owned Communities, making 15 in the state of Colorado.  

Aspen Basalt Homeowner’s at Closing Signing   Left to Right: Veronica Vargas and Lorena Vargas   

The residents of Aspen Basalt were first noticed of the current owner's intent to sell on March 11, 2025. Fast forward to October 15, 2025, and now the residents are the owners of Aspen Basalt Mobile Home Park. It was not always an easy path, but it was worth it as Veronica Vargas, resident & Board Treasurer of Aspen Basalt Homeowner’s remembers when she first heard about the sale. “For my family and me, becoming part of a Resident Owned Community (ROC) provides a sigh of relief! After hearing the Aspen Basalt Park was up for sale, I feared my future as a homeowner in the Roaring Fork Valley would be short-lived.  Through the generosity of community members and the hard work of our residents, we are now our own entity and never have to worry about the threat of eviction again! Becoming a ROC has brought our community closer together, and I look forward to living in a close-knit neighborhood where residents can rely on one another and live together harmoniously.”   

Manufactured home communities are often setup where the residents own their homes; however, they pay rent on the land their homes are on. Aspen Basalt MHP was setup this way, which can leave the homeowners susceptible to rent hikes and potential eviction, especially when the properties go up for sale. With the property now under the resident's ownership, residents gained control over critical decisions, including rules, infrastructure projects, and lot rent pricing.  

Keeping manufactured home communities' rents affordable is not a new concept. In 2020, Colorado legislation was enacted to offer residents in manufactured home communities the opportunity to purchase the land underneath their homes. The process to purchase the land and become a ROC still takes a large commitment from the community, however, the payoff is huge.   

Lorena Vargas, resident and Board President of Aspen Basalt Homeowner’s, Inc. was involved in the process right from the start and reflected on becoming a ROC, “Becoming a ROC is about leadership, resilience, and community pride. I chose to become a ROC because I’ve seen firsthand what happens when systems fail. This time, our entire valley stood together. With allies by our side and residents ready to protect what matters, I’m incredibly proud of how we united,” said Vargas.  

At the start of the process, the residents of Aspen Basalt began a long and worthwhile collaboration with Thistle, a nonprofit organization located in Boulder, Colorado. Thistle guided them throughout the acquisition process and will offer ongoing technical assistance to the cooperative for the duration of the 10-year purchase loan. Tim Townsend, the Program Director, commended the community's coming together quickly which requires quite a lift on board members and residents to ensure a successful close.  

“From that first meeting when the purchase price felt out of reach to closing day, the residents of Aspen Basalt never stopped believing in what was possible. Their grit, unity, and partnership with so many local allies turned a once-daunting challenge into a lasting victory for affordable homeownership in the Roaring Fork Valley,” said Townsend.  

Paul D’Angelo, CEO of Thistle Community Housing, added, “While the work of ROC USA and our own Thistle ROC under the leadership of Tim Townsend is incredible, this is such an amazing story about Neighbors, Community, and Partners, both Public & Private, coming together to save the affordability of a local Mobile Home Park. Kudos to the Residents of Aspen Basalt and their committed determination in seeing this through and keeping their Community together & affordable for years to come!”  

Maintaining affordability in a market impacted by rapidly rising property costs required generous contributions from public, private, and industry partners throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. Subsidy donations and a combination of below-market rate loans combined to ensure residents were able to meet the community’s $26.5 million price tag while ensuring the permanent preservation of affordability for current and future residents of the cooperative.  

As a tremendous aid to the acquisition of both Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley, the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition was successful in raising a combined total of $16 million in subsidy donations through a network of public and private partners. $12 million was allocated to the acquisition of Aspen Basalt. Due to the higher purchase price of Aspen Basalt, more subsidy was needed for Aspen Basalt.  

Total public contributions included $3.25 million and $2.65 million supplied by Pitkin and Eagle Counties, $3.2 million supplied by the City of Aspen, $1.25 million supplied by the Town of Snowmass Village, $1.1 million supplied by the Town of Carbondale, $600,000 supplied by the Town of Basalt, and $100,000 supplied by the City of Glenwood Springs.  

Local industry partners Atlantic Aviation and Aspen One contributed a total of $1.1 million and $600,000. $2.15 million in donations ranging from $50,000 - $500,000 came from individual and family donors including Melony and Adam Lewis, Michael and Laura Kaplan, Dean and Sherri Goodwin, Larry and Susan Marx, Laurie Michaels, Django Bonderman, Main Line Social, Larry and Susan Marx, the Alpenglow Foundation, and seven other anonymous donors.  Many community members also joined in with smaller gifts totaling $27,000—each one helping to make this success possible and an inspiring show of local commitment and collective generosity.  

In addition to the subsidy, mortgages were provided through a collaboration between two Community Development Financial Institutions: ROC USA® Capital and Impact Development Fund. In total, the community gained access to over $16 million in below-market rate loans.  

Aspen Basalt Homeowner's Operations Manager Sergio Borja shared the positive impact becoming a ROC means to him, “It means peace of mind for me and my family and knowing that no one else will try to displace us from our home. To be able to continue living in this community where I have lived for 20 years and to let other communities that are going through this whole process know that by uniting all the neighbors and working together this can be possible.”  

"I left Aspen-Basalt energized after witnessing the board submit their offer letter that very day earlier this Summer. That spirit—neighbors stepping up for one another—has carried them to this point, now becoming a ROC. It’s a win for the Roaring Fork Valley and a model for what resident ownership can achieve,” says Nicholas Salerno, ROC USA’s Chief Program Officer.