Snowmass Village Approves $1 Million to Help Residents Buy Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park

If you’re a worker in Snowmass Village, how much of your paycheck just got a $1 million boost in security?

That’s the number. $1 million. It’s the price tag on the letter of intent Snowmass Town Council unanimously approved Monday to help current residents buy out the owner of Cavern Springs mobile home park. It’s not a grant. It’s not a giveaway. It’s a down payment on keeping 98 families from being priced out of the valley they help run.

The math here is specific. The park owner and tenants agreed to sell the property — homes included — for $24 million. That’s the total bill. Snowmass Village is kicking in $1 million of it. Aspen is putting up $2 million. Pitkin County is throwing $1.5 million into the pot. Glenwood Springs and Carbondale are each chipping in $500,000, all in the form of forgivable loans.

Let’s do the math on the local contribution. Snowmass, Aspen, and Pitkin County alone are covering $4.5 million of that $24 million tab. That’s nearly 20% of the total purchase price coming from the immediate vicinity. For context, that’s what Snowmass Village spends on road maintenance in a year. They’re trading asphalt repairs for housing stability.

The residents have less than a month to close the deal. They’re aiming to put in their offer on June 1. Kevin Rayes, Snowmass Housing Director, says staff is supportive of the million-dollar request. He notes that residents are “really interested in purchasing the park to preserve it.”

Preserve it from what? From the open market.

Cavern Springs sits in unincorporated Garfield County, but its economic gravity pulls heavily toward Snowmass Village. At least 27 of the current residents work within the village limits. That’s roughly 13% of the park’s working population. These aren’t just people living in trailers; they’re construction workers, service industry employees, school staff, veterans, and retirees. A large portion earns below 80% of the area median income. They’ve lived here for decades.

The town isn’t just writing a check and hoping for the best. The $1 million contribution is tied to specific conditions, primarily the application of deed restrictions. This isn’t a free-for-all. The homes will only be sold to buyers who are part of, or retired from, the local workforce. They must be income-qualified. They must owner-occupy. Short-term rentals are prohibited.

This is a deliberate attempt to freeze the asset in place. It’s a move to ensure that the people who build the roads and serve the food in Snowmass can actually afford to live in the shadow of the resorts.

The West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, Sopris Mountain Collective (the residents’ not-for-profit C-Corporation), and Mountain Voices Project requested the funding after the sale agreement was struck. They’re working with Thistle ROC, a Colorado nonprofit that specializes in turning mobile home parks into resident-owned communities. Thistle helped with the successful Aspen-Basalt and Mountain Valley resident purchases in 2025. They know the playbook.

The town council has been discussing this in Executive Sessions, indicating strong support and providing clear parameters for staff. The goal is to buy down the cost of housing, one of the top goals of the Snowmass Village Town Council.

It’s a simple transaction on paper. The town gives money. The residents get the deed. The community keeps its workforce. In practice, it’s about preventing the slow erosion of the local labor pool that has plagued Western Slope towns for years. If this deal holds, the $1 million from Snowmass Village buys more than just land. It buys the ability for a school teacher or a construction crew to stay in the valley without commuting two hours each way.

The residents have until June 1 to make their move. The clock is ticking.