<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/colorado-mobile-home-park-collective-ownership-affordable-housing/>
"On a quiet day this spring, Alejandra Chavez walked into her office at
Westside Mobile Home Park in Durango, Colorado. Residents were gathered in the
community space, discussing their plans for the park’s future, some leaning on
the kitchen’s baby-blue counters while others sat in plastic lawn chairs. A
year ago, this building was owned by a New York corporation and was off-limits
to residents. But now, residents use the space for yoga, child care and
community events. That afternoon, there were piñatas in the corner, left over
from a recent birthday party.
Not long ago, 63 families at Westside faced the threat of displacement. In
early 2022, the park’s owner announced plans to sell the park to Harmony
Communities, a California-based corporation with a reputation for raising
mobile home rents by up to 50 percent and imposing strict rules. Wary of being
at the mercy of institutional investors, Chavez and her neighbors organized to
make a counteroffer and take control of their community.
After months of fundraising and working with the Denver-based nonprofit
Elevation Community Land Trust, Westside made a successful offer and formed a
housing co-operative. Now owned jointly by its residents and Elevation, the
park operates as a community land trust, which removes land from the real
estate market and transforms it into community-owned property. Two decades
after she first arrived in Durango, Chavez, a DACA recipient, is now the park’s
property manager and the co-op’s vice president.
At Chavez’s office this spring, she was busy collecting rent while her phone
buzzed and fellow residents dropped by. Her community’s story is one model for
how to preserve affordable housing, with the potential to reshape housing in
the West in a way that allows residents to guide the discussion. “Their voices
will be heard now,” Chavez said. “They weren’t listened to before.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
