Residents of a Colorado mobile home park are racing to buy the land beneath their homes before it is sold, the Daily Camera reported.
In unincorporated Boulder County, that push at San Lazaro Mobile Home Park now includes a donation drive to help residents pay the early costs of making an offer.
What's happening?
After getting notice that the park's private owner intends to sell, the 213-household community — nearly 800 residents in all — has been trying to assemble its own purchase bid for San Lazaro, according to the Daily Camera. Colorado law gives residents first right of refusal, which means they have four months to organize financing and submit a competing offer.
Residents said the price they need to match is $42.5 million. They also said that if another buyer makes an offer, residents could get a second four-month period to respond. Boulder County, meanwhile, has agreed to pay for an independent appraisal of the park, with results expected within a few weeks.
Residents told the Daily Camera that more than 80% of households support forming a resident-owned cooperative. In that setup, the land is owned collectively, and households vote on major decisions. Resident John Bellos said the appraisal should help show whether the seller's asking price is in line with the park's value.
According to the Daily Camera, San Lazaro was built in the 1960s and is home to retirees, veterans, people with disabilities, essential workers, college students, and refugees.
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Why does it matter?
People in manufactured home parks often own their homes but not the land they sit on, which can leave them exposed when a park is sold or rents go up. A resident-owned cooperative changes that arrangement by giving households influence over rents and rules and by keeping extra money in the community instead of sending it to a private owner, according to the Daily Camera.
Keeping San Lazaro intact could preserve a relatively affordable housing option in Boulder County, where housing costs remain a major burden. Residents said that the community is majority Latino and that Bosnian families make up about a tenth of the population.
What are residents doing?
Residents are holding weekly meetings as they work on the purchase, alongside support groups including Together Colorado, 9to5 Colorado, EcoArts, the Boulder County Community Foundation, and Boulder County. Organizers are also requesting one-time donations for early expenses such as legal work, organizing, and the appraisal, which they say could add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
According to the Daily Camera, organizers expect that reaching the $42.5 million purchase price will require combining multiple funding sources. They are pursuing a proposed $15 million ROC USA Capital loan that they hope would go through Thistle Community Housing. Local and state officials have indicated that housing funds could support preserving the park, but no specific amounts have been committed.
"The goal there is just to find out if the asking price lines up," Bellos said. "We would really like to know what target we're trying to hit."
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