Encampment-overrun Denver is set to break ground on the first of many micro-communities designed to house the homeless.
The site, located on S. Santa Fe Drive, is one of 11 being propped up by the famously progressive city, which is currently in the midst of an unprecedented homelessness crisis.
Worsening matters is the fact the derelicts are not exactly roughing it – with tent-laden processions complete with furniture and other amenities now a common sight in the Mile High City.
Along with that, crime has been on the rise – forcing officials like new mayor Mike Johnston to dream up up a feasible solution.
On Monday, the 48-year-old Democrat announced the city is taking its first steps in combating the crises – by erecting a fully staffed commune with 130 70 square-foot homes, and 70 larger domiciles measuring in at 120 square feet.
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Denver is set to break ground on the first of many micro-communities designed to house the homeless – one of 11 being propped up by the famously progressive city
The community is the brain child of new mayor Mike Johnston – who said each home will cost between $13,900 and $18,900 to construct
Each, the mayor said, comes complete with a complementary bed and a desk, and will have access to community areas with restrooms, showers, a kitchen, and multiple gathering spaces.
The residences – comprised of the increasingly popular pallet shelters now being used as ‘tiny homes’ – cost between $13,900 and $18,900 to construct, with each being assembled in under an hour, Johnson said.
In total, the single community will cost the city a total of $7million – not including the other amenities set to be offered. There will also be no sobriety requirement for prospective tenants, the mayor’s office said Monday.
It’s the first step of Johnston’s House1000 initiative, which claims it will be able to house 1,000 people by the end of 2023.
The end goal of the venture, officials said, is to eventually close all the encampments across Denver – a little over two months after Johnston declared a citywide state of emergency to address the crisis.
At a town hall meeting late last month, the mayor hinted that he was not going to approach the problem like others before him – as he continues to face criticism since for two separate sweeps that have failed to clean up the mess.
Last Wednesday, the city cleared out a homeless camp on 16th Avenue and Sherman Street – and Johnston promptly faced outcry from progressives for failing to give the evicted vagrants different housing properties as alternatives.
‘This sweep was something that was not something that resulted in any kind of housing opportunity offered, hotel stay, anything like that,’ V Reeves, with the homeless advocacy group Housekeys Action Network, told Fox 31 last week.
‘People now are realizing that what the mayor has been saying has been a lot of lies.’
On Monday, the 48-year-old Democrat announced the city is taking its first steps in combating the dueling crises – by erecting a fully staffed commune with 130 70 square-foot homes, as well as 70 larger domiciles measuring in at 120 square feet.
The site, located on S. Santa Fe Drive, is one of 11 being propped up by the famously progressive city
. It’s the first step of Johnston’s House1000 initiative, which claims it will be able to house 1,000 people by the end of 2023
The end goal of the venture, officials said, is to eventually close all the encampments across Denver – a little over two months after Johnston declared a citywide state of emergency to address the crisis
Worsening matters is the fact the derelicts are not exactly roughing it – with tent-laden processions complete with furniture and other amenities now a common sight in the Mile High City
At a town hall meeting late last month, the mayor hinted that he was not going to approach the problem like others before him – as he continues to face criticism since for two separate sweeps that have failed to clean up the mess
Last Wednesday, Johnston faced outcry from progressives for failing to give vagrants displaced by cleared-up encampments alternative housing options
The comment – which came a week after the city also made a point to clear out an encampment at Eighth Avenue and Logan Street near the Governor’s Residence – apparently hit home for the mayor, spurring him to finally make headway on the new effort announced more than a month ago.
At the time, Johnston – a member of the state senate from 2009 to 2017 – touted how the plan will cost taxpayers an estimated $48.6 million, and christened it House1000.
‘We’re shuffling people without long-term resolution,’ he said at the time, criticizing his own efforts that saw city officials force individuals sometimes just a block away.
Of the $48.6million, he said, just $19.6 million would go toward the conversion of purchased pallet shelters into tiny homes, while $18.9million is set to go toward the purchase of a Best Western in Central Park that will also be bolstered by a micro community.
Another $5.4 million of the city budget is set to be spent on leasing and operating additional hotels for homeless housing, while $4million will go to setting up individuals in their new digs in a timely fashion.
The city is also set to spend another $750,000 on its ongoing encampment response, which includes costs incurred by official’s outreach, transportation, and temporary bathrooms and washing stations.
In total, the community will cost the city a total of $7million – not including the other amenities set to be offered like a full 24-hour staff
In total, the single community will cost the city a total of $7million – not including the other amenities set to be offered. There will also be no sobriety requirement for prospective tenants, the mayor’s office said Monday
Once 1,000 are housed, Johnston said the city will ‘permanently’ close all of its encampments – aiming to clear up the now clogged streets, parks, and public spaces in the process
A former state senator, Johnston recently said of the effort: ‘The plan is fully paid for. We have a path for success on that plan.’ He says all 11 communities will be taking in homeless by January
Once 1,000 are housed, Johnston said the city will ‘permanently’ close all of its encampments – aiming to clear up the now clogged streets, parks, and public spaces in the process.
It is unclear how long that will take, though Johnston promises everything will be said and done before the end of the year.
‘The plan is fully paid for,’ the mayor said recently. ‘We have a path for success on that plan.’
According to his office, each community – while still being constructed – will be able to house somewhere between 40 and 100 people, depending on the site and its size.
Some, however, may be able to house more – including the site at South Santa Fe where a planned 125 people will lay their heads at a time.
The plan is for the people to live in the units until they are eligible for permanent housing.
That said, each micro-community has to be operational for at least two years to be financially feasible, the city said, citing how zoning laws allow for them to be in place for increments of four years.
If this solution fails to solve the city’s problem, a long economic downfall – and more instances of homelessness – likely awaits.
The Denver metropolitan area has seen a 32 percent rise in homelessness this year compared to 2022.
It had 9,065 unhoused people in January compared to 6,884 the year before, according to data collected by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative.
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