Denver homeless hotel wins $24.5 million grant, experiences wraparound services delay

State grants totaling $24.5 million will help Denver turn the ballroom side of this hotel in a one-stop shop for homeless people.Photo byGoogle Street View

The Denver City Council accepted Monday two grants totaling $24.5 million from the state of Colorado to pay for the homeless navigation campus it opened last year. One council member wants answers as to why wraparound services at the campus aren't up and running.

The campus is the former DoubleTree Hotel at 4040 Quebec. The city already is leasing the property for $83,333 per month, according to a memo from city staff to the council. The city has an option to buy the hotel for $43 million, according to the memo. People moved from homeless encampments as part of the mayor’s House1000 campaign already are living there, the memo states. However, there is another side to the hotel that contains ballrooms and meeting space.

Council member Shontel Lewis asked Denver homeless czar Cole Chandler during the council meeting why residents there are not receiving wraparound services as promised. There is nothing up and running when I go there and see the actual space,” she said. Chandler replied that officials have been waiting on the grant money so they can purchase the building and have more control over it. He said the positions already have been funded in a contract with the Salvation Army. He said the city recently gave the Salvation Army approval to start hiring for the positions.

Chandler said hires also will be made to staff the other side of the hotel where the ballrooms are located. That half of the building, considered the navigation campus, will offer services to walk-in clients seeking housing, medical and mental health care, Chandler said.

Housing the chronically homeless

The former hotel primarily houses those who have been homeless for extended periods of time and have complex issues to address, the memo states. “The Denver metro regional navigation campus grant state grant program aims to reduce homelessness among populations disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by integrating services in a campus setting that are collectively focused on expediting and streamlining access to the housing and services needed to thrive,” according to the memo. “Through trauma-informed staff engagement and service utilization, the ultimate goal is to connect participants with permanent housing, which may be at the campus or in other locations. In addition to reducing homelessness, this grant aims to ultimately reduce public utilization costs, revitalize public spaces, and increase workforce. Services provided on a navigation campus are designed particularly for individuals or families (including pets) with complex needs and long lengths of homelessness.”

'The Aspen' or the ‘TroubleTree?’

The 300-room DoubleTree hotel boasts conference rooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities. There is also a restaurant and two ballrooms. The ballrooms would be used as temporary shelters during wintry weather, according to the memo. If the city exercises the option to buy the hotel, all rent paid will count toward the purchase price, the memo states.

The former hotel, now called The Aspen, has six security guards on duty at all times, city staff told the Finance and Governance Committee of the City Council in April. Guests must walk through a metal detector and have their bags searched for drugs and weapons, staff added.

Those critical of the mayor’s House1000 plan have nicknamed the former DoubleTree the “TroubleTree.” Several people have died there from shootings, overdoses and more since its opening last year, according to city officials.

Inmates RISE again

Also Monday, the council approved $580,000 in contracts to operate the jail-based RISE, or Recovery in a Secure Environment program.

The council awarded contracts for $389,434 and $193,475 through Sept. 30, 2025, with the Mile High Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and The Empowerment Program. Inmates enrolled in the RISE program spend much of their time out of their cells during the day engaging in therapeutic activities. There are group therapy t sessions and one on one treatment.

Help for addicted, mentally ill

The services are for inmates who present with a co-occurring substance abuse disorder and mental illness. According to a memo from city staff to the council, the contract recipients will keep scrupulous data on their patients, including:

· A record for everyone who screens positive for a mental illness or substance use disorder.

· Screenings completed and results thereof.

· Basic demographic and working diagnosis information (including veteran status and pregnancy status, if applicable).

· The type and dosage of medications provided for Medication Assisted Treatment, or MAT. Medications ease the symptoms of withdrawal and make it safer.

· Number of individuals who successfully transition to community-based services upon release.

· Program discharge outcomes and treatment status in the community after discharge at months one, two, six and 12.