A homeless hotel in Denver will become a housing navigation center for people who have been homeless for an extended period of time or who have “complex needs” after the Denver City Council approved a pair of grant agreements with the state Department of Local Affairs totaling roughly $24.3 million.

But the place set to become the navigation center is the same hotel where seven people were killed between Jan. 19 and March 27: The former Double Tree hotel at 4040 Quebec St.

The ultimate goal of the navigation center is to connect people there with permanent housing, and the grants approved include 195 housing vouchers. The idea is for the hotel to serve as a “housing navigation center” more than a homelessness navigation center, city officials said.

But Councilmember Shontel Lewis still had questions concerning the exact execution of the grant agreements.

“We’ve been talking about it for almost a year now and I haven’t seen any plans or like any substance of what the navigation center is going to entail,” Lewis said. “The last time we went there just a few weeks ago, there was nothing up and running except for the church… But when I go there and see the actual space, it’s lacking.”

Other services will be coming to the navigation campus, however. Staff working on Denver’s homelessness initiative said they were operating in a “let’s wait and see” mindset, making sure it actually got the money before letting the Salvation Army begin hiring to expand services at the hotel.

The city has overspent on its homelessness response by roughly $65 million. However, with state grants, the $24.3 million is not coming out of city coffers nor the general fund. 

Recreation Center contract

The Swansea Recreation Center, nestled within Swansea park in one of Denver’s most historically underserved neighborhoods, will see ground break on a new indoor pool facility after the City Council approved a $21 million contract for construction.

The contract is paid for by the Elevate Denver bond, a 10-year, nearly $1 billion bond program approved by voters in 2017 to put up money for various projects citywide.

Renderings provided by Denver Parks and Recreation show an ambitious project with improvements bringing a water slide, an outdoor patio to replace the existing pool and a remodeled front entrance. Because of the upcoming project, Denver Parks and Recreation closed the pool at the end of last summer, fencing off the lot where construction will begin.

With scorching temperatures forecast for the week in Denver and a heat advisory in effect, residents who want to cool off may find respite at the Globeville Argo outdoor pool, which is roughly 2 miles away.

Another, the Mestizo Curtis Park outdoor pool, is closed as Denver is planning to reconstruct it, though the project’s webpage does not list any estimated times for completion.

The contract stipulates a maximum term of 602 days, or just under a year and a half, and city documents estimate the new pool will be completed by winter of 2025.

Officials with Denver Parks and Recreation were unable to comment before press time.

Lawsuit settlements

The City Council also OK’d $200,000 worth of lawsuit settlements involving Denver Parks and Recreation and the Denver Police Department.

Parks and Recreation must pay $125,000 for the case Morgan Riss v. Denver. Riss collided with a city-owned Chevy Silverado driven by city employee Karen Zeldin, according to the lawsuit, after Zeldin ran a red light at east 3rd Avenue and north Adams Street in August of 2021. Riss suffered back injuries.

The police department is on the hook for $75,000. This case stems from actions taken by officers in June 2021 when they beat and arrested a 60-year-old, despite there being no suspicion of him having committed a crime. During the ensuing arrest, Aaron Hernandez, the victim, suffered injuries to his face after officers threw him to the ground.

“Not a single person has apologized to Mr. Hernandez. Not one,” attorney Birk Baumgartner said in 2021 to The Denver Gazette’s media partner 9News. “As a matter of fact, the police officers involved in this incident received commendations for their actions toward him. That’s shocking.”