'Dream come true': Parklane Mobile Home Park residents buy park, set example for others

Sady Swanson, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·5 min read

Update, Sept. 1: Residents have voted to rename their park to Nueva Vida Mobile Home Park/New Life Mobile Home Park, United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos board member Nicole Armstrong told the Coloradoan.

Residents announced the name change during a fiesta thrown by residents Aug. 19 to celebrate their purchase of the park. The name was selected after a neighborhood-wide survey asking residents to submit ideas and then vote on a new name, Armstrong said.

Original: When Parklane Mobile Home Park residents found out in December the park was going up for sale, longtime resident Evelia Rosas said they felt afraid and uncertain about the future of their community.

“Many feared they would be kicked out" because a new owner would want to develop the land, or at the very least their rent would increase, said Rosas, who spoke to the Coloradoan through an interpreter, Irene Romsa. The park is located just east of Fort Collins city limits in the city’s growth management area off East Mulberry Street, north of the Best Western Kiva Inn and Charco Broiler restaurant.

But in July — after six months of working with neighboring nonprofits The Genesis Project and Matthews House and forming their own resident-run nonprofit, United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos — the residents successfully purchased the park, making it the first resident-owned mobile home park in Larimer County and solidifying it as long-term affordable housing. An attempt by residents of Hickory Village Mobile Home Park to buy the Fort Collins park failed in 2021.

“I am happy that together we were able to make this purchase all together as residents,” Rosas said. “It’s a dream come true.”

How Parklane residents outbid an investor to own their park

United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos represented residents in purchasing the park for $6.8 million, outbidding a large investor, United Neighbors/Vecinos Unidos board member Nicole Armstrong previously told the Coloradoan.

Those funds came from multiple sources:

Established relationships with The Genesis Project and Matthews House, which neighbor the park, strengthened the residents’ ability to secure funding and make a competitive offer within a tight 90-day deadline from the date the park was put up for sale, Armstrong told the Coloradoan.

"The residents of Parklane, The Genesis Project and The Matthews House have built a deep trusting relationship centered around belonging and understanding," Armstrong said.

Another factor in residents' favor was that the park is small, with 68 units, making it a little easier to retain funding, Armstrong said.

Colorado law change aims to make resident-ownership more attainable

Residents in mobile home parks often own their homes but not the land. Colorado's Mobile Home Park Act was updated in June 2020, requiring park owners to consider an offer from residents to buy the park within 90 days of listing the property. But 90 days is a tight timeframe to put together an offer because "this work takes time," Armstrong said.

Parklane is one of six mobile home parks in Colorado to be resident-owned or governed by residents since the law changed in 2020, according to a previous news release announcing Parklane's sale. 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, according to the release.

Since January 2020, approximately 30% of all mobile home park units located in mobile home parks in Larimer County have sold to new owners, according to the news release. Before Parklane, none of these parks were sold to residents or organizations or nonprofits representing residents.

Another recent state law change will further strengthen residents' abilities to purchase their parks: A law going into effect Oct. 1 extends the timeframe residents can make an offer on their park from 90 days to 120 days, Armstrong said.

The state is also working to establish a new loan program that mobile home park residents can access to help them purchase their parks, thanks to a law Gov. Jared Polis signed in May at Parklane Mobile Home Park.

'Don't give up'

In the 15 years Rosas has lived in the neighborhood with her husband and children, she said she’s witnessed and experienced “many injustices” with previous owners. She recalled an instance where they had drainage issues, forcing her to take her children outside to use the bathroom. When she asked for help from management, she said they told her it was her problem to solve.

“I felt very powerless,” she said.

Residents will now be able to make decisions about lot rent levels, utility services and maintenance. Being able to make decisions on things from rent to speed limits and landscaping is empowering, Rosas said.

“I have seen many injustices. Many have,” longtime Parklane resident Sonia Torres said in a statement to the Coloradoan. “I am happy now to be part of this change.”

Andy Kadlec — a program director for Thistle, a private nonprofit that has assisted residents at six different Colorado mobile parks in purchasing their parks, with a seventh closing next month — said giving residents the opportunity to secure their mobile home parks as long-term affordable housing options is key to making sure people can continue to afford to live in their communities and not be displaced.

"Mobile home parks are the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country,” Kadlec said. "I think it's more important to give them more control and power in their housing."

Thistle helped residents of Hickory Village Mobile Home Park in their attempt to buy their park in 2021.

Rosas said knowing she and other residents have power and control over their neighborhood now makes her feel more secure, and she hopes their success will inspire residents in other mobile home parks to also try and purchase their neighborhoods.

"Don’t give up. Remain in the fight, and this is possible,” Rosas said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Larimer County mobile home park residents empowered after park purchase