Residents of Parklane Mobile Home Park finally own their properties.
Residents of the park, located just outside city limits in northeast Fort Collins, formed a nonprofit — United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos — to help them buy the park shortly after their landlord told them it would go up for sale in December, according to a news release from the nonprofit.
The sale closed Monday. The park is located in Fort Collins’ growth management area, off East Mulberry Street, north of the Best Western Kiva Inn and Charco Broiler restaurant.
Residents bought the park for $6.8 million, outbidding a large investor, said Nicole Armstrong, United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos board member.
The funds came from multiple sources: Larimer County provided a $1 million forgivable loan using American Rescue Plan funds; the Bohemian Foundation provided a $2.8 million loan; and residents received a $3 million loan from the Impact Development Fund. Residents worked with neighboring nonprofits — The Genesis Project and Matthews House — for help with securing financing and navigating the buying process, according to the news release.
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Residents knew that the sale of the park to a new owner would have likely meant rent would increase or the park would be replaced with another development, according to the release, and the sale to residents will help preserve the park as affordable housing.
“I have lived in this community for 15 years,” park resident Evelia Rosas said in the news release. “I like this place because it is central. It is close to schools, stores, gas stations, and it is a place that is safe and calm. I like my community very much and I am ready to make positive changes alongside my neighbors. For us it is a dream come true.”
Parklane Mobile Home Park, established in 1958, has 68 mobile homes that are home to 200 adults and more than 100 children. Many families and individuals in the park have lived there for more than 20 years, according to the news release.
Parklane is one of six mobile home parks in Colorado to be resident owned or governed by residents since Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Act was updated in June 2020 to expand opportunities for residents to purchase their communities, according to the news release. Even though the legislation aimed to make it more attainable for residents to buy these parks, only about 9% of the 69 parks that sold in Colorado since June 2020 were purchased by residents.
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Since January 2020, approximately 30% of all mobile home park units located in mobile home parks in Larimer County have been sold to new owners, according to the news release. None of these parks were sold to residents or organizations or nonprofits representing residents.
An attempt by residents of Hickory Village Mobile Home Park to buy the Fort Collins park failed in 2021.
“We hope that resident ownership and resident governance will become less rare, and that this sale will inspire residents of other parks,” United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos board member Adry Santiago said in the news release. “Our Colorado legislators and our community nonprofits recognize that maintaining affordable housing is one of the largest and most important challenges we must tackle.”
Moving forward, residents will first determine rent levels, utility services and maintenance, according to the release. This purchase gives residents the future option of transitioning to individual ownership instead of a nonprofit and stability in the meantime to explore different ownership models.