The Denver City Council’s homelessness committee on Wednesday advanced two contract extensions for the operation of two of Denver’s non-congregate shelters.

The contracts’ next stop is the full council. 

The first contract extends an existing lease agreement with Quebec Hospitality LLC to provide shelter to homeless individuals at the 138-room Comfort Inn located at 4685 Quebec Street. The shelter is located in Council District 9.

The amendment adds $11,592,000 to the existing contract, bringing the total to $17,432,700 and extending services through Dec. 31, 2025. According to City of Denver’s Director of Real Estate Lisa Lumley, the extension also reflects a new daily room rate of $120 per room per night — a $10 per night bump from the city’s previous agreement.

The motion passed, 5-0, with councilmembers Chris Hinds and Amanda Sawyer absent.

The second amendment, one of several consent items on a block vote, adds an additional year to the city’s contract with U.S. Motel Denver North, Inc., set to end on March 31, 2026. The contract is for non-congregate shelter units to help individuals and families when the city’s emergency shelters reach capacity.

Additionally, it increases funding for the contract by $1 million for a revised total of $2,615,000.

The mayor’s campaign to curb homelessness has been expensive.

A briefing from the city’s Department of Housing Stability last June revealed the city was on track to spend $155 million between July 2023 and December 2024 — $65 million more than Johnston previously said it would cost.

Against this spending backdrop, the latest count showed the total number of homeless people in Denver ballooned from 5,818 last year to 6,539 this year.

And the city saw only 150 fewer “unsheltered” homeless people compared to last year’s count — data that puzzled one councilmember a few months ago and led one to accuse the Johnston administration of having a “spend first, ask questions later mindset.”

Johnston’s administration sees affordable housing as key to curbing Denver’s homelessness crisis.

Last week, the mayor’s affordable housing ballot initiative, which would have generated $100 million for “affordable” housing and raised the city’s sales tax rate by 0.5 points, fell flat with voters.

Political observers and others point to the measure’s “frustratingly vague” rollout plan, and it’s lack of spending guardrails as reasons for its failure.

Cole Chandler, deputy director for Mayor Mike Johnston’s homelessness initiative, said that over the next couple of months, as more housing contracts for homeless people come before the City Council, the elected officials will see some new improvements, including specific requirements for all such contracts to include a security assessment and plan.

“We will be very active in ensuring those security plans meet our standards and are implemented at our sites in a timely manner,” Chandler said.

The contract amendments must now go before the full City Council for final consideration.