Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration on Thursday announced 11 potential sites for homeless “micro communities” and hotels that housing authorities plan to convert into shelters.

In addition, the administration plans to buy 200 pallet shelters, earmarking $7 million for the project. The mayor’s office said the city council’s finance and governance committee endorsed the idea earlier this week and the full council will vote on the proposal Aug. 28.

The potential homeless sites are:

• 1498 N. Irving St.

• 5500 E. Yale Ave.

• 1380 S. Birch St.

• 950 W. Alameda Ave.

• 2301 S. Santa Fe Drive

• 4595 N. Quebec St. (hotel)

• 12033 E. 38th Ave. (hotel/micro community)

• 3700 Galapago St.

• 1199 N. Bannock St.

• 1375 N. Elati St.

• 5000 Tower Road

The Johnston administration is considering nearly all of the sites above for micro communities, which are intended to be a set of small 70- or 120-square-foot “tiny” homes.

Of the list, one site – 4595 N. Quebec St. – is the former Best Western hotel in northeast Denver. Housing authorities approved its purchase for $26 million and officials plan to convert the hotel into housing units.

The city said the hotel will be leased to Denver for a nominal cost and put into “interim use” this fall as non-congregate shelter.

Another site – 12033 E. 38th Ave. – is the former Stay Inn, also in northeast Denver. The city approved paying $9 million for it in January.

“These sites, in combination with hotels and leased units, puts us on a path to get 1,000 Denverites indoors,” Johnston said in a news release. “It takes a community response to address our city’s homelessness crisis, and identifying this preliminary list of possible sites is a big step toward getting more people off the streets and on a path toward housing stability.”

Denver has been pouring significant resources into tackling its homelessness crisis, spending $152 million in 2022 and authorizing $254 million to address the problem in 2023.

A January count put the number of homeless people at 5,818 in Denver. With a $254 million allocation this year, that means the city is spending nearly $43,700 for each homeless individual.

In the last few months, the city and housing authorities in Denver have also bought or approved the purchase of hotels with plans of converting them into shelters. 

The crisis shows no signs of abating. The city this year saw an 8% increase in the number of homeless people who sleep in public places. All told, the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative counted 9,065 homeless people throughout the seven-county metro area, a nearly 32% increase from 2022.

Earlier this month, city officials unveiled a list of nearly 200 sites, but that list is preliminary, and it simply showed publicly-owned sites in Denver. It had not gone through any vetting, and it was created prior to the activation of an emergency operations center, according to a city spokesperson.

In an update on Thursday, the mayor’s office said its list of preliminary sites will provide “a foundational step for the city’s initiative to bring 1,000 unsheltered residents inside by the end of the year while permanently closing encampments.”

The city also said the Johnston administration is in “conversations” with private landowners. Officials added they are looking to expand sites to every district in the city.

“We’re grateful to the many private landowners and public partners who have come forward to support this initiative,” Johnston said. “I look forward to engaging with many more Denverites on how we all can be a part of the solution.”

The sites being considered are either public land owned by Denver or another government entity, such as the Colorado Department of Transportation, the mayor’s office said. Some sites are privately owned and their owners have offered them for purchase or use through a lease agreement, Johnston’s office added. 

City officials said they are factoring in proximity to transit; access to utilities, such as electricity and water; distance from schools; and equitable distribution of sites across the city. The sites must also meet zoning, permitting and environmental criteria, they said.  

The administration is also looking to acquire pallet shelters, which are prefabricated units that supporters have described as offering “dignified” and temporary housing for homeless people. 

9News, a partner of The Denver Gazette, said the units would be 70-120 square feet with a bed, mattress, desk, storage shelf, AC unit, heater and power outlet.