The city of Denver is planning to purchase the Travelodge Hotel in the Central Park neighborhood to house up to 240 people experiencing homelessness in the metro area per year. 

Mayor Michael Hancock and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) announced the endeavor Thursday as part of the community projects DeGette proposed to the House appropriations committee for federal funding.

“This is the kind of partnership we need in the city of Denver to address the issue of homelessness,” Hancock said. “Denver cannot do this by itself. To have a partnership on the federal level is huge for us. This building here behind us represents hope.”

Under DeGette’s proposal, Denver would receive $2 million in federal funding to begin the purchase of the hotel. Another $5.8 million needed for the project would come from state funding and a Community Development Block Grant.

If the proposal is approved, the hotel could be repurposed and open to residents as soon as by the end of 2021.

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DeGette said officials are working to open the hotel as quickly as possible to address the current homelessness crises in Denver; however, the need for a housing project like this has been evident for several years.

In January 2020, there were over 4,000 people experiencing homelessness in the Denver metro and less than 2,000 beds available in shelters, according to the Denver Metro Housing Initiative.

“The pandemic didn’t create this crisis, but it’s really made it a lot worse,” DeGette said. “Every single child deserves to have a roof over his or her bed when they go to bed every night.”

The hotel, located at 12033 E. 38th Ave., has 95 rooms that will be converted into 60 regular housing units and 35 supportive housing units – to provide mental and behavioral health services to up to 45 residents.

People experiencing homelessness who are elderly and/or have medical conditions that put them at risk of COVID-19 will be prioritized when filling the units.

The housing units will be available for entire households experiencing homelessness, meaning couples, families and people with pets will not be forced to separate like they are in congregate shelter systems. The residents will also be free to store their belongings in the units.

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“Because it is a non-congregate shelter where there are individual rooms, it really gives us the maximum flexibility in who we can help to serve,” said Denver Chief Housing Officer Britta Fisher.

The city has not identified who will run the shelter; however, shelter services and operations will be financed by the city through funds like the Homelessness Resolution Fund passed by Denver voters in November.

There aren’t any plans to bus residents to and from downtown, but the hotel is located right next to the RTD Peoria Station with bus and light rail access.

The hotel purchase was one of 10 community projects submitted to the House appropriations committee by DeGette, which were all focused on funding for housing remedies and helping those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other projects include $10 million of federal funding for Urban Peak for youth homeless shelter reconstruction and money for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless for housing relocation.

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“While projects like this are absolutely vital to providing shelter for people in our area, we need to continue to do a deep dive to identify what causes this crisis in the first place,” DeGette said. “We have to work at every level of government to fix it.”

Christina Carlson, CEO of Urban Peak, said if the funding is approved, they will use it to transform their current youth shelter into a campus, tripling the number of people they can house.

The campus will include integrative services, separate shelter space for minors aged 15 to 17 and expanded shelter access for youth aged 18 to 24. The campus will also feature dorm-style living and affordable apartments to help the youth safely transition out of the program.

John Parvensky, CEO of CCH, said their funding would go toward the construction of the Stout Street Recuperative Care Center and adjoining Legacy Lofts, providing shelter for people experiencing homelessness who have just been released from the hospital.

The care center will have 75 beds, on-site medical and behavioral health services and resources to connect residents to ongoing housing and medical services. Above the center will be 98 units of permanent housing.