Residents acquire ownership of manufactured home community in Carbondale for $15.5 million.

Mountain Valley MHP Cooperative joins other Resident Owned Communities, making 14 in the state of Colorado.

Mountain Valley MHP Cooperative Board Members at Closing Signing - Left to Right: Moises Dolores and Eber Silva 

Every time a mobile home park is put on the market, residents are left wondering what their future will hold. Eber Silva, resident & Board Vice-President of Mountain Valley MHP Cooperative, remembers when he first heard about the sale: “When the community was first hit with the letter that informed us the owner was selling, there was a lot of shock, and everyone was so concerned. I think through those hardships is when everyone really got together. It was really nice to see the entire community come together. You know, we would have meetings at the park and people would come up with ideas like ‘let's do a yard sale’ to come up with the money. No one ever gave up.”  

The process to purchase the community started back in March 2025 when the community was notified of the owner’s intent to sell. After a lot of work by community members and partners, the residents were able to complete the purchase on October 15, 2025. Moises Dolores, Mountain Valley’s Board Operations Manager, remembers the start well, sharing: 

“It's been a process learning the steps to become a ROC. It is a new experience for all the residents to feel safe that their rent is not going to be increased year by year by random owners, or owners that might want to just change the park in the future. So, it feels great to become a ROC.”  

Manufactured home communities are typically structured so that residents own their homes but rent the land beneath them. Mountain Valley Mobile Home Park followed this model, which can leave homeowners vulnerable to rent increases or even displacement when a property changes hands. Now, with the land under the residents’ collective ownership, Mountain Valley residents have gained stability and control over their community. They can make key decisions about community rules, infrastructure improvements, and lot rent pricing, ensuring that their neighborhood remains affordable and self-determined. 

Ensuring affordability in manufactured home communities is not a new idea, but it gained new momentum in Colorado in 2020, when state legislation provided residents the opportunity to purchase the land under their homes. The journey to ownership is a complex and demanding process that requires strong community collaboration, but the outcome is transformative: residents achieve long-term security, local decision-making power, and the pride of owning not just their homes, but their community itself. 

Dolores continued “It's awesome to see everyone come together, have the same idea, and try to get this accomplished. For me to be a board member, it's been it's been fun to help people in my community.” 

When Mountain Valley MHP Cooperative residents set out to purchase their community, they partnered with Thistle Community Housing, a Boulder nonprofit dedicated to affordable housing. Thistle walked alongside the residents through every step of the acquisition and will remain a resource and advisor throughout the 10-year loan period. Tim Townsend, Program Director at Thistle, praised the Mountain Valley community for its determination throughout a complex and demanding process that required significant effort from both board members and residents. 

“Mountain Valley’s residents proved what can happen when a community rallies together around a vision. Through hard work, teamwork, and trust in one another, and with the steadfast support of our local partners, they achieved what once seemed impossible: securing their homes, their stability, and their future,” said Townsend. 

Silva reflected on all the partnerships that were formed to help the residents purchase the community, “From the beginning I remember that when we all got together, we were really confused on what was happening and everything, but as we met with lawyers and other people, we all came together and I think that in order for Mountain Valley to be where it's at, we needed the partnership with Thistle, West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, and JVAM. All these puzzle pieces had to come together to really bring this whole community together and make this work.” 

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 $15.5 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 Mountain Valley and Aspen Basalt, 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. $4 million was allocated to the acquisition of Mountain Valley. 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 for the now resident owned community (ROC) 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 $13 million in below-market rate loans.  

"Across the Roaring Fork Valley, residents and local governments have rallied around preserving manufactured home communities as long-term stability housing. Their resolve is part of a larger valley moment—one that ROC USA is deeply honored to support. " ROC USA® President Emily Thaden said.