Help 98 Families Fight Displacement
They're Buying Their Park from Private Equity. They Need $8M to Close the Deal.
Meet the Sopris Mountain Collective.
For decades, families have called Cavern Springs mobile home park home. They are teachers, non profit executives, restaurant workers, bus drivers, healthcare staff, construction workers, and veterans who keep the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado running.
Their park is for sale for $23 million. They have until June 13, 2026 to make an offer—and October 2026 to close. Or- they risk losing their homes to outside investors who will raise rents and displace residents.
The residents have organized into a cooperative corporation. They have secured pledges for $5.2M in government grants and philanthropic donations. They are working with seasoned lenders (ROC USA and Impact Development Fund) to finance $16M.
They've done the hard work.
But- Mountain Voices Project and the residents still need to raise $2.8M in government grants and philanthropic donations to close the gap. We are also looking for impact investors to join in the loan at a below market interest rate -- to help keep the rents as low as possible.
How to Give
Tax-deductible donations are administered through the Housing Justice Fund at Aspen Community Foundation. Please include a donation note that says "Cavern Springs."
Want to stay in the loop? Email our organizer, Katherine Coe, at [email protected]. We'll share our fundraising progress, let you know about additional ways to support as they arise, and celebrate milestones with you as we work toward our goal.
For large gifts ($25,000+) or impact investment inquiries ($250K minimum, 3% interest):
Contact Betsy Crum at [email protected] and Katherine Coe at [email protected]
A Proven Model for Permanent Affordability
Right now, residents own their homes but not the ground beneath them. They've invested their savings in manufactured homes—often $50,000 to $150,000—but they pay monthly lot rent to a landlord who owns the land. This creates profound insecurity: if lot rents skyrocket or the park sells, residents can't simply move. Moving a manufactured home costs $15,000-$30,000 (if it's even structurally possible), and many communities won't accept older homes. So families are trapped—stuck paying whatever rent the landlord demands, or forced to abandon their largest asset and start over.
Becoming a Resident Owned Community (ROC) changes everything. As a cooperative, residents collectively own the land beneath their homes. They become both homeowners AND landlords. They set their own lot rents (just enough to cover operating costs), make decisions democratically, and control their own future. No outside investor can ever force them out or extract profit from their community again.
This isn't an experiment. With support from Thistle ROC, a Colorado nonprofit, multiple mobile home park communities across the state have successfully made this transition. The results are clear:
- Lot rents stay affordable indefinitely
- Families build equity and stability
- No one gets displaced for profit
- Communities govern themselves democratically
Why This Matters
This is about more than 98 homes. It's about 98 families who belong here.
These residents aren't transient workers—they're longtime community members with deep roots. They coach Little League, volunteer at schools, serve on church councils, and run local businesses. Some have lived here for over two decades. When they're displaced, the community doesn't just lose workers—it loses its social fabric. And when social fabric tears, communities become transactional places where people work but don't stay, where economic activity happens but civic life withers.
The housing crisis in the USA requires both building new units AND preserving what already exists. Mobile home parks are the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country, and they're disappearing fast. When investors buy parks, lot rents typically jump 40% in the first year alone, forcing families out. We've watched it happen to neighboring parks—residents lose their equity, their stability, and their community overnight.
Your one time investment in Cavern Springs does three things:
- Preserves 98 units of affordable housing in perpetuity with zero displacement
- Proves the community ownership model works at scale in high-cost luxury resort communities
- Builds support for a replicable blueprint for other mobile home parks facing the same threat nationwide
This isn't just a rescue—it's a demonstration project with national implications.
Every dollar brings all 98 families closer to ownership. This only works if we raise the full $8 million in grants and donations—everyone succeeds together, or no one does.
About Us
Sopris Mountain Collective is the resident-led board organizing this purchase, in partnership with:
- Thistle ROC - Colorado nonprofit with proven ROC conversion expertise
- Mountain Voices Project - Community organizing partner
- Western Mountain Regional Housing Coalition - Fiscal sponsor and coordinator
- ROC USA Capital - Specialized affordable housing lender
Questions?
Katherine Coe, Organizer, Mountain Voices Project: [email protected] | (203) 321-5922
Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park sits between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale in Garfield County, Colorado. Home to nearly 300 residents—essential workers, families, seniors, and veterans—who power the Roaring Fork Valley.