Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced Monday that Denver’s first micro-community to house homeless people will be built along South Santa Fe Drive.

Johnston, who has vowed to house 1,000 homeless people by year’s end, said city officials will break ground soon at 2301 S. Santa Fe Drive.

But nearby residents have expressed concern about the site being toxic ground. It was once a Denver Radium Superfund Site.

The micro-community is planned to house 120 people, open before year’s end and operate 24/7, the mayor’s office said in a news release.

Denver plans to break ground on the site, currently an empty lot, in the coming week.

“This development is a significant step forward in the ongoing effort to combat homelessness and improve the lives of those in need with our city,” the mayor’s office said, noting the site “has been carefully chosen to accommodate the specific needs of its future residents.”

Micro-communities are a strategy by Johnston to put homeless people in a community of air conditioned and heated shelters, with wraparound services such as mental health treatment and employment help, bathrooms, and community spaces. Sites are monitored by staff 24/7.

The goal is to provide temporary housing to transition homeless people into more permanent, affordable housing solutions, the mayor said.

Micro-communities are perhaps the most controversial housing strategy Johnston has put forth. The city proposed 11 sites across the city where some nearby residents have expressed concerns about traffic, health, drug-use, crime, and quality of living.

In this case, nearby residents said it is an unsafe area due to formerly toxic land. The site used to have a toxic waste dump within a five-block radius, according to nearby resident Daniel Reiling.

The Santa Fe Drive and Evans Avenue area became subject to controversy in the 1980s and 1990s when radioactive material was allowed to be disposed on site, rather than being excavated or removed, Overland Park Neighborhood records show.

The plot is currently owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation, according to Denver Assessor records.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s website: “In 2001, the United States, the State of Colorado and the S.W. Shattuck Chemical Company settled the natural resource damage claim resulting from the release of hazardous substances from the Denver Radium Superfund Site, in southwest Denver, northeast of the intersection of Evans Avenue and Santa Fe Drive.”

A meeting Sunday night brought in concerned residents.

“We really didn’t have a choice as to whether or not they cared,” Reiling said about concerns shared with officials.

Reiling has a bachelor’s degree in architecture and worked in commercial real estate for multi-family housing. He has researched the housing crisis and how zoning affects housing affordability and said the mayor has not explored every option.

In response to concerns raised by neighbors about the site, Johnston told the Denver Gazette, “I think the neighbors have been active partners in it.”

He added, “I think they’ve engaged in a really generous spirit, which is they both want to see it succeed, and they want to provide safety in the neighborhood and we are committed to doing both. So I thought this has been a really good symbol of the broader progress.

“We made sure to deliver what the neighborhood expects in terms of accountability and safety.”

One nearby resident, Estancia Montoya, lives less than three blocks away from 2301 S. Santa Fe Drive. She said 70 letters were sent opposing the Santa Fe micro-community.

“We were all upset, we were all saying we do not want this,” Montoya said. “Everyone is still going to fight.”

Each site undergoes environmental assessments for zoning, building, fire, safety, public health concerns, and traffic/transportation impacts, according to the mayor’s office.

“This future micro-community will help get unhoused neighbors off the street and into safe, stable, supportive transitional housing while also helping us close unsafe encampments and keep neighborhoods closed to future camping,” Johnston said in the news release. “The groundbreaking marks important progress in our goal to get 1,000 unhoused Denverites into transitional housing before Dec. 31.”

Reiling, however, said the micro-community site was considered with “no information regarding solid plans for the safety of our neighborhood,” he said. “Really disappointing for people who are scared about this.”

The Santa Fe micro-community will be fenced and gated to “ensure the safety and security of its residents, neighbors and community,” the mayor’s office said.

Facilities and services at the micro-community to support Johnston’s goal of transitional housing include:

• Employment assistance and resources
• Supportive services
• Restroom facilities
• Fully-equipped communal kitchens
• On-site laundry facilities
• Trash disposal services

“Mayor Johnston and his team will continue working to identify additional micro-community locations,” the mayor’s office said. “The work will include evaluating community feedback to deliver the best solution both for unhoused Denverites and for neighborhoods and businesses.”