Meadowood Co-op is Colorado’s 12th resident owned community.
Almost 1 year ago, the residents of Meadowood Village Mobile Home Park received a letter informing them that their community was being sold for $18 million. Resident leaders started researching their options, attending city board meetings, and started working toward submitting their own offer on the community with the goal of becoming a Resident Owned Community (ROC).
Theresa Duskey, Meadowood Board Secretary, shared about the early days of the process, “When we first got the notice, I was just in shock! We didn’t realize it was going to be sold, and the offer really came out of out of the blue. Then a few folks started getting people together, and we figured out we could get this done.”
Before the purchase, as is common in many manufactured home communities, Meadowood Village residents owned their homes, but not the land beneath them. This arrangement left homeowners susceptible to rent hikes and eviction, especially when the property was put up for sale. By buying the property themselves, the homeowners have gained control over key decisions, such as community rules, infrastructure projects, and lot rental prices.
Tom Mikesell, Meadowood Board Treasurer, rejoiced about a few of those items, also adding the community getting closer. “The reason I'm very happy that we have become to be a ROC is that we've become a very close community throughout the process. Plus, we are able to control maintenance and rent."
As affordable housing becomes harder to come by stabilizing rent through becoming a ROC has been a key focus for many groups. On average, resident-owned communities raise site fees minimally compared to the industry average. For residents and families living in the 92 homes at Meadowood, this long-term affordability means everything, and it was accomplished by committed residents.
Duskey continued about being able to keep her neighbors in their homes, “Now that we are owners, we will still run the community as a business, however, we are very happy that we are able to keep everyone in the community. No one will have to move. There have been a lot of ‘thank yous’ from the residents and they are all very grateful that we were able to get this accomplished.”
This purchase was partly enabled by Colorado legislation enacted in 2020, which requires that residents of manufactured home communities be given the chance to buy the land their community occupies. However, in competitive real estate markets, the gap between opportunity and reality has often been significant. For Meadowood’s Board of Directors, becoming resident owned meant their community could take that opportunity and turn it into a reality.
The residents of Meadowood also collaborated with Hillary Ellis and Alex Finch of Milgrom, Daskam, & Ellis, who provided pro bono legal support throughout the acquisition. Katie Crane of Kutak Rock also provided additional low-cost legal support during the financing. Thistle Community Housing, a non-profit organization helped the community by guiding them through the purchase process and will continue to offer technical assistance to the co-op for at least the length of the 10-year purchase loan. Program Director Tim Townsend praised the community’s grit.
“Meadowood’s journey to becoming a Resident Owned Community is a testament to the power of determination, collaboration, and community spirit. Through tireless hard work and unity, the residents turned a challenge into an extraordinary opportunity, securing the stability and affordability of their homes for generations to come. Congratulations, Meadowood, on this incredible achievement—your success inspires us all!”
The Cooperative’s ability to get financing to purchase Meadowood Village MHP was uncertain when the board first made an offer to purchase the park. However, the Cooperative garnered a wide range of local support from their City, County and State. The City of Littleton was the first contributor with a $200k refundable grant for earnest money, to support their accepted offer. The City of Littleton and Arapahoe County both pledged early financial support to the Cooperative, contributing a combined $75k to inspect the property and for legal expenses as the Cooperative learned to govern themselves.
With the need for affordable terms and conditions apparent, the Cooperative’s Board of Directors worked tenaciously with Thistle ROC to solicit the help of both current and new lenders. The help of the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) was sought when the Cooperative board submitted an application for acquisition support in August. While applying for subsidy support, three primary lenders stood out to fund the Cooperative’s purchase. ROC USA Capital committed a $9.515 million loan, Impact Development Fund committed a $3.5 million loan, and CHAI Debt Capital committed a $3 million loan. Arapahoe County still seeing the gap in subsidy support for the Cooperative, contributed a $750k grant towards the purchase price.
In line with their approval schedule, DOLA awarded the Cooperative a $3.475 million low interest loan, approving the full application amount to the Cooperative to support their subsidy needs in their purchase. Finally, the Telluray Foundation pledged a $50k grant to the Cooperative to support the purchase. Almost a year after the Cooperative learned their park was for sale, nine months after forming a Cooperative, six months after making an offer to purchase, six financing applications and hundreds of meetings between supporters later, the Meadowood Cooperative has the financing in place to ensure affordability for the future of all its residents.
ROC USA CEO Emily Thaden shared, "I am thrilled to see the collaboration between public and private funders who recognize the importance of preserving the affordability of these 92 homes in a growing suburb of Denver." Thaden continued, "The hard work of the homeowners at Meadowood Cooperative, working alongside Thistle, has paid off for current homeowners and future generations."
Thistle CEO Paul D’Angelo agrees and sees Meadowood purchase as a huge win for affordable housing in Colorado. “Very excited to see the Meadowood Community become a part of the Thistle ROC Family where we work every day in partnership to protect the residents and their homes with an affordable housing model that works! We continue to believe in the power of co-op homeownership and the stability it creates for individuals and families in manufactured home communities.” D’Angelo said, “So proud to have a Team that works so passionately with these great communities where we all believe in the economic opportunity, wealth building and empowerment that ownership can offer.”
"Meadowood Cooperative is the fifth manufactured home community to utilize the Colorado Pool of low-interest capital funding and ROC USA's partnership with the State Department of Local Affairs was also leveraged for Meadowood to help deliver low-cost acquisition financing to the homeowners," said Michael Sloss, Managing Director of ROC USA Capital. "The community also received public financial support from the county and state, and we are so thankful for that critical support and collaboration from local and state leaders to show the importance of preserving affordable housing in Littleton, a highly desirable suburb in Colorado. ROC USA Capital applauds the tenacity and perseverance of the homeowners at Meadowood in advocating on their own behalf for the public funds that made this acquisition viable."
About the Partners
Thistle is a private non-profit organization in Boulder County that develops, manages and preserves permanently affordable rental and ownership homes. Since out founding in 1985, we have created over 1,000 affordable homes and, with our valued partners, have invested to preserve and enhance over $45 million in community assets.
ROC USA (rocusa.org) is a national non-profit social venture with an in-house lending subsidiary (ROC USA Capital) and robust training and coaching infrastructure for resident owned manufactured home communities. ROC USA and its network of technical assistance affiliates promote stability and sustainability in affordable neighborhoods by empowering residents through cooperative ownership. To date, ROC USA Network has helped 339 communities through this integrated technical assistance and financing model. The capital pool used in this purchase was made possible by the following investors: The Colorado Health Foundation, The Colorado Trust, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), Ally Bank, Key Bank, Mercy Community Capital and JPMorgan Chase.The Colorado Trust, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), Ally Bank, Key Bank, Mercy Community Capital and JPMorgan Chase.