Residents of Apache Mobile Home Park in west Durango hope to buy the property after being informed of the owner’s intent to sell, according to park residents.
The owner, CODU Apache LLC, distributed a formal notice of intent to sell on Nov. 24. The letter said, “the Landlord intends to make a final, unconditional acceptance of an offer that was made to the landlord on 11/21/24.”
The offer is reportedly for $5,285,000.
Natalie Going, a resident of Apache, said the community aims to replicate the success of Animas View Mobile Home Park, where residents formed a co-op to buy the property July 2021.
Going is spearheading the community’s efforts to buy the park.
“As soon as I found out they were going to sell the trailer park, I got a notebook and went door-to-door to get signatures,” she said.
Going said residents hope to obtain assistance from Thistle ROC, a nonprofit organization that helps mobile home owners secure financing to buy their land.
To proceed, Thistle ROC requires 80% of park residents to agree to a potential purchase.
“We pretty much got 80% of the park signed on Sunday, and I’m going to contact Thistle today (Tuesday) to see if we can move forward to hopefully make an offer,” Going said.
The sale raises serious concerns about the continued affordability of housing, Going said.
She said the park is one of the few areas within the city that Durango’s working class can afford. It is located along Arroyo Drive, west of Main Avenue and Junction Street.
The park’s 48 lots accommodate a mixture of single- and double-wide mobile homes.
“Here, we actually have a little bit of a yard, you know. We have our own porch area, and so it would just suck to have to leave,” Going said. “And we’re right next to all the schools, which really helps for families.”
Dan Hunt, a resident at Animas View Mobile Home Park, said every time a park changes hands among for-profit owners, prices go up, making it tougher on tenants.
Hunt was heavily involved in the success of the Animas View Co-op and served as operations manager on the co-op’s interim board.
Going said the average rent at Apache sits around $750 to $850, but she has heard people with newer leases pay over $900.
Apache residents are already looking at an $80 rent increase in February, which is a significant amount of money for most of them, she said.
If the pending sale follows previous patterns and increases prices beyond the February increase, it could push rents to more than $1,000 per month.
In 2020, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the Mobile Homes Act, giving mobile home residents the opportunity to, “buy the park if the landlord anticipates selling it or changing the use of the land.”
Resident ownership stabilizes rent, ensuring long-term access to affordable housing.
Under the Mobile Homes Act, homeowners have 90 days to make an offer of purchase and arrange financing after receiving notice of a pending sale or change of use.
Residents of Apache Mobile Park have a little less than six weeks before the 90-day mark is reached, Going said.
When reached for comment about the possible sale, Apache LLC said the deal had fallen through.
Residents of the park said they were not made aware of any such development.
Apache LLC did not respond to multiple attempts by The Durango Herald to follow up and seek clarity on the status of the sale.
The Herald reached out to Apache MHP’s management company, Impact Communities. A spokesperson for the group declined to comment and requested they remain unnamed.
Impact Communities owns and operates manufactured communities (mobile home parks) throughout North America. Dave Reynolds, majority owner of Apache MHP LLC, shares ownership of the company with his business partner, Frank Rolfe.
jbowman@durangoherald.com