Kingdom Park in Breckenridge is pictured on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Summit County is exploring a variety of strategies to help mitigate the widespread housing issue, one of which is learning about the work of Boulder-based nonprofit Thistle.
Michael Yearout/For the Summit Daily News
When Silverthorne mobile home parks Cottonwood Court and D&D sold to Riverthorne LLC, many community members voiced concern for the residents that lived in the two parks, and the residents feared whether or not they would be able to stay within Summit County.
Earlier this year, the developer and the residents reached a confidential agreement that was reportedly satisfactory to each of the residents. But the events of what happened still left some community leaders shaken considering there are a few more mobile home parks located within county limits: Swan Meadow Village, Kingdom Park and Farmers Korner.
“We’re deeply troubled about what happened in Silverthorne,” said Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue at a commissioners work session meeting on Tuesday, May 3. “It does seem a bit frustrating, given all of our efforts to create new affordable housing in Summit County, that we lost some.”
That’s why the Summit Board of County Commissioners listed to a presentation from Thistle, a small nonprofit based in Boulder that works with Resident Owned Communities USA to help residents of mobile home parks purchase their communities and maintain those units as affordable housing. Andy Kadlec, program director for the nonprofit, attended the meeting, along with Mountain Dreamers representatives Peter Bakken and Javier Pineda.
Bakken said in an email that there are currently no plans to purchase any of the county’s mobile home parks and that this presentation was meant to educate how else the community could protect existing affordable housing units.
During Kadlec’s presentation, he said Thistle and Resident Owned Communities USA have helped residents purchase six different mobile home parks including two in Canon City, one in Longmont, one in Durango, one in Boulder and one in Leadville.
Juan Carlos and Karla Gricelda stand in front of their home in D&D Mobile Home Park, 780 Blue River Parkway, on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Last year, the park sold to Riverthorne LLC which is planning to develop the property. Residents of the park have to relocate by this summer.
Ashley Low/For the Summit Daily News
The goal is to transition these parks from private ownership to resident-owned communities. Residents living …….