Denver Provides Loan to Stabilize Housing Options at Mobile Home Park
Published on March 11, 2024
Agreement marks momentous step toward cooperative ownership for residents
Denver’s affordable housing preservation efforts took a pioneering step forward today with City Council approval of a loan agreement to help mobile home park residents cooperatively own the homes they’ve lived in for years. The Department of Housing Stability (HOST) is providing $2,600,000 to SCI-Capitol City, LLC, an entity of Sharing Connexion, to acquire Capitol City Mobile Home Park. Sharing Connexion will act as interim owner to prevent displacement until the residents’ cooperative can purchase the property. The mobile home park, located at 4501 W. Kentucky Ave in the Westwood neighborhood, contains 78 mobile home spaces, 60 of which will be leased to income-qualifying households at or below 80 percent of the area median income.
“This innovative loan will support a non-profit partner that will prevent displacement of long-time residents, and eventually, ensure residents can buy the land underneath their mobile homes,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “We're incredibly proud of this partnership and all it will do to help people stay in the neighborhood they call home."
Sharing Connexion, Inc. is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide affordable housing and nonprofits with real estate expertise, funding, and preservation. Sharing Connexioin has three primary programs to serve this mission, one of which is their ‘Real Estate Rescue’ program that preserves nonprofit and community assets by making key short-term investments. By acting quickly to purchase the park, Sharing Connexion provides a much-needed bridge while the mobile home park residents get their organization, called Monte Vista Housing Cooperative, off the ground.
“We seek to preserve and protect affordable housing from displacement and by acquiring and acting as interim owner, we are dedicated to maintaining this naturally occurring affordable housing for the residents while they work toward a cooperative ownership of the property,” said Sharing Connexion, Inc. CEO Ed Anderson. “The partnerships involved in this complex investment share in the incredible commitment of preserving affordable housing for this community.”
Sharing Connexion expects to own the property for up to three years to allow the resident cooperative to create management structure, legal documents, and other requirements for ownership. Sharing Connexion will then sell the property to Monte Vista.
"This HOST loan agreement marks a triumphant moment for Capitol City Mobile Home Park residents, empowering them to establish Denver's first resident-owned mobile home park,” said District 3 City Councilwoman Jamie Torres. “This milestone underscores our unwavering commitment to preserving mobile home parks and affordable housing options in Denver."
Funding for the loan agreement comes from the city’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Special Revenue Fund and the Investment Impact Fund through Denver Economic Development and Opportunity and the Department of Community Planning and Development. Established in 2022, the Impact Investment Fund aims to reduce the involuntary displacement of existing residents and businesses in the priority neighborhoods of Westwood, Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, East Colfax and Sun Valley.