The city of Denver is looking for someone to buy a vacant hotel to renovate and turn into housing for the homeless.
Interested parties can pick up the hotel — and the responsibility — for the low, low price of only $10.
Denver purchased the former Stay Inn off Peoria Street near I-70 approximately 18 months ago for $9 million, according to FOX 31. The units inside the hotel are intended to be used as supportive housing. Individuals who make up to 30 percent of the region's median income, who are experiencing or are facing homelessness can qualify for the housing.
The city reportedly already has parties interested in taking over the property and is currently reviewing applicants. The city council will have the final vote on the development partner picked for the project.
“We are hopeful that the procurement will result in a path forward for delivering supportive housing at the site,” Derek Woodbury, a spokesperson for the city's Department of Housing Stability, told the local Fox station.
The city has made sure that whoever takes over the building will actually use it for the purpose of providing housing to individuals facing financial difficulty. The deal comes with a covenant requiring a 99-year commitment to provide income-restricted housing.
Cities have tried to combat homelessness by converting hotels into supportive living units for more than a decade.
A former hotel for Jehova Witnesses in New York's DUMBO neighborhood was converted into a 500-unit supportive housing building. The median rent in the neighborhood in 2022 was just under $6,000 a month, according to The New York Times.
Last year, Baltimore announced it had acquired a pair of hotels with the intent of converting them into supportive housing and for emergency shelters.
“The acquisition of these hotels is a critical expansion of our ability to address the needs of our most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at the time.
Even conservative Texas – albeit in liberal Austin – has given the idea a try. Last August the Pecan Gardens – formerly a Candlewood Suites hotel – in Austin opened with a mandate to provide supportive housing to seniors facing homelessness, according to KUT News.
