Unknown Buyer Offers $42.5 Million for Colorado Mobile Home Park, Residents Now Scrambling to Match the Price to Save Their Homes

Word arrived at San Lazaro Mobile Home Park on August 10: an anonymous buyer had offered the full $42.5 million asking price for the community outside Boulder. For the more than 800 residents who call the park home, some for over 40 years, the notice started a clock they can’t stop. A state law gives them one more chance to buy the park themselves, and the deadline is close.

Boulder Reporting Lab Breaks News Of The Mystery Bid

According to Boulder Reporting Lab, residents learned of the competing offer through their own organizing group rather than from the park’s management directly. The outlet, which has tracked San Lazaro’s sale since it was first listed, confirmed the bid matches the property’s full asking price. Residents had already spent months trying to raise money to buy the park themselves, and the new offer changed everything overnight.

Colorado Law Gives Residents Until December 8 To Counter

State law requires mobile home park residents to get a chance to buy their community whenever it’s put up for sale. San Lazaro’s residents had a first 120-day window that closed in July without a resident offer in hand. The competing bid triggered a second and final 120-day period, and this time the deadline is firm, residents have until December 8 to submit a counteroffer that matches the price.

The Buyer’s Identity Stays Locked Behind An NDA

Almost nothing is public about who’s behind the $42.5 million offer. David Eisenstein, an attorney representing the park’s current owner, said nondisclosure agreements prevent him from naming the buyer or describing any plans for the property. That silence has fueled worry among residents, who fear an outside investor could raise lot rents, push out longtime families, or redevelop the land entirely.

Residents Are Chasing A Roughly $25.5 Million Gap

Buying San Lazaro outright means residents need to assemble tens of millions of dollars fast. They’re pursuing a $15 million loan through ROC USA and $2 million from Colorado’s Proposition 123 fund, while a public fundraising campaign keeps climbing by the day. Even stacked together, those pieces still leave a gap of roughly $25.5 million standing between residents and full ownership of their community.

About Half Of Residents Are Already Cost-Burdened

San Lazaro isn’t just housing, residents argue it’s some of Boulder County’s last unsubsidized affordable housing. A 2024 Boulder Watershed Collective study found that roughly half the park’s residents already spend more than a third of their income on housing. Any rent increase from a new owner, they say, could be enough to push working families and seniors out of the county entirely.

The Owner Isn’t Even Based In Colorado

San Lazaro was established in 1966, and its owner of more than 40 years, San Lazaro Park Properties, is actually registered in Minnesota rather than Boulder. The park has also gone two decades with water that fails odor tests and, more recently, tested positive for PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals. A city plan to fix it by connecting San Lazaro to Boulder’s water system has stalled for years.

One Resident Is Already Working 17-Hour Days To Cope

For Pedro Zepeda, who has lived at San Lazaro for 12 years, the uncertainty is already reshaping daily life. Zepeda told CBS Colorado he doesn’t know what’s coming next, only that covering rent on top of other bills means working longer hours than before. “It’s hard to pay all expenses and bills, and now we have to pay rent,” he said, describing days that stretch past 17 hours.

County Commissioners Hear From Over 80 Residents In One Meeting

Residents have taken their case directly to local government, asking state, county, and city officials for financial help to preserve the community. More than 80 people showed up to an August 11 meeting to make their case to Boulder County commissioners. Commissioners didn’t pledge money on the spot, but they directed staff to prepare a letter of intent, a small sign that more support could follow.

For Residents, The Fight Is About More Than One Building

Diana Briones, who lives at San Lazaro, says the outcome will shape the community for years. “These are people who are working in your kitchens, who are helping your kids. Losing our homes would make us go further out and have to look for different jobs, different schools,” she said. With the clock running toward December 8, that’s the reality residents are racing against.