The city of Aurora plans to buy the Crowne Plaza Hotel and turn it into a “regional navigation center” that provides temporary housing and services for people who are homeless. Aurora City Council members approved the purchase Monday night 7-3 for the 255-room hotel and convention center at 15500 E. 40th Ave. near the airport … Read more
Denverites’ decision five years ago to bump up the city’s sales tax rate, creating a wellspring of funding for parks, is finally ready to bear fruit — in the form of grass, gardens or other greenery — in neighborhoods across the city. Or in the case of a west Denver neighborhood that’s been hungry for … Read more
Review errors, unreliable data and poor oversight in Denver’s planning department exacerbated permit delays for home construction projects and renovations as wait times grew significantly during and after the pandemic, a new city audit says. Between 2020 and the first part of 2023, average wait times for residential project permits grew by 75%, or 113 … Read more
On a December morning, dozens of people cycled through the benches outside Room 163 of the Denver City and County Building. A few cradled children, and some looked at the floor. Deja Balles held a document from her landlord. It demanded just shy of $2,700 in back rent for October, November and December. Like the … Read more
A fence enclosed the hundreds of tents lining the blocks around Zuni Street and Speer Boulevard on Wednesday morning as Denver police guarded the area and outreach workers helped the migrants who have been living there get ready to leave. The city of Denver on Wednesday began the process of shutting down the makeshift campsite … Read more
Elisabeth Francis keeps a small glass bottle on her desk. Inside is a printout of the heartbeat of a man that she knew for more than 10 years after meeting him in the early days of her career as a homeless outreach worker in Denver. John Hull died in July in a hospital. “I was … Read more
Denver has received more migrants per capita over the past year than any other large U.S. city that doesn’t flank the southern border. In what Denver city staff is considering the fourth wave of record arrivals, Mayor Mike Johnston is pushing for not only more money from the federal government but steps to ease the … Read more
The push by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to move 1,000 homeless people off the streets by year’s end gained new urgency Tuesday as city officials detailed a schedule of coming encampment closures. And they confirmed that it will be converted hotels — not the micro-community sites in neighborhoods that have attracted the heaviest pushback — … Read more
HOUSTON — The apartment complex where Teresa Eddins now lives is so quiet that “you can hear a pin drop” at night, she says — a stark contrast to the constant noise she withstood while living beneath a bridge two years ago. She was one of the first people who moved into a former hotel in … Read more
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced Friday that the city’s current sheriff and fire chief will continue in those positions, finalizing his intention to retain all of his predecessor’s public safety leaders. Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton (Provided by Denver Fire Department) Nearly five months after being sworn into office, he renominated Sheriff Elias Diggins and … Read more
