The horseshoe-shaped Clarion Hotel near the Denver Coliseum in Globeville haunted John Parvensky every time he drove by. It was the perfect place to build the next safe space for Denver’s homeless.

“I’d been going up and down I-25 and I-70 and dreaming,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be a nice place to be able to house people who are on the streets?”

After a year of negotiations, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless had a $24 million deal just before Christmas.

“We finally convinced the owner to sell,” he said.

By mid-2023, the Clarion Hotel will become Renewal Village. The property at 200 W. 48^th Ave. will provide 215 units of transitional housing, the Coalition’s 21^st such endeavor. The number of people it will service is second only to the Coalition’s Renaissance at Civic Center Apartments, which has 216 units at 25 E. 16^th Ave. – the former downtown YMCA building.

The multi-million-dollar price tag came from a variety of funding sources, including: $10.6 million from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs; $10.4 million from the Denver Office of Housing Stability, and nearly $4 million from Adams County, which is less than a mile away from the building.

Per the agreement, 10% of Renewal Village’s residents will originate from Adams County.

Parvensky has walked through the Clarion property a number of times.

“One of the beauties of the building is it was built and used as conference facility,” Parvensky said.

A full kitchen means freshly cooked meals for residents and a large conference room can be used for on-site mental health, counseling and job training.

The Coalition uses a “housing first” model which does not refuse services for the mentally ill or for those suffering from substance abuse. Parvensky said there will be robust security staffing to “deescalate situations so that it doesn’t create a problem. For some people, particularly elderly with chronic health conditions, providing a private room in a motel-type setting is better than asking them to stay in a large congregate shelter.”

An October HUD report showed that homelessness is on the increase in Colorado. Of the 10,397 homeless people in the state, around 3,700 are chronically homeless. The report’s bright spot showed that Colorado’s veteran homeless population shrank, according to the Coalition’s Chief Communication and Policy Officer Cathy Alderman. 

The acquisition of the “class B hotel” will likely be the capstone to Parvensky’s 38-year career as president and CEO of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. He plans to retire as soon as the 750-employee non-profit organization finds a suitable replacement to run the organization.