Libby community is 10th of its kind in state

A mobile home park in Libby recently became Montana’s 10th resident-owned community that is owned by a non-profit cooperative corporation and managed by its members.

“The homeowners who live in Hartmanns Trailer Court located at 34561 Highway 2 in Libby have bought the community from the previous owners,” states a news release from NeighborWorks Montana, a Great Falls-based nonprofit that supports affordable housing and helped establish what is now known as Libby Creek Community.

“[Resident-owned communities] preserve an important source of unsubsidized affordable housing for working families, seniors and people with low incomes,” the news release states. “In most places in Montana, owning a home in a ROC is about half as expensive as renting an apartment.”

Further, in a resident-owned community “the lot rent goes to the cooperative and is used for the good of the community” rather than for the benefit the land owner.

The community has 12 homes and is managed by a board of directors elected by co-op members, the news release states.

Glacier Bank and NeighborWorks Montana financed the purchase, and the project was overseen by NeighborWorks Montana staffer Danielle Maiden, who grew up in Libby and graduated from Libby High School in 2004.